The Fountain Inn Chorale (FIC) began as a project of the city of Fountain Inn. Van Broad, the head of economic development at the time, conceived of a downtown arts center that would draw people to the town to enjoy performances, restaurants, and social gatherings. The former Fountain Inn School, a CCC-built, historical-registry building, became the Younts Center for Performing Arts and hosted the Chorale, the Fountain Inn Symphony Orchestra, the FIRE repertory theater, and outside guest performers. All performances were strongly supported by the city, and we added to our budgets with fundraisers and ticket sales.

The Fountain Inn Chorale’s inaugural season at the Younts Center was in 2009. In 2014 Jane Morlan became the director and the Chorale began a period of growth and success. Unfortunately, in 2017, the budget for all the performing organizations was unexpectedly eliminated by the Fountain Inn city council in a cost cutting initiative.

Fortunately, our FIC leadership team had foreseen this possibility and had obtained a SC state charter and 501c3 status. And, through all of this change the Chorale continued to perform and draw large audiences. The singers began paying dues to participate, grants were sought and awarded, and new donors were diligently solicited. As time went on, the expenses of performing at the Younts Center grew, and in the spring of 2019 the Fountain Inn First Baptist Church offered us space for rehearsals, performances, and storage of music and materials and became our new home. FI FBC remained the home of FIC during the pandemic hiatus and our singers joyfully returned in the fall of 2021 for rehearsals and new performances.

Today, the Chorale is led by our new Artistic Director and Conductor, Donald W. Duncan, and our rehearsal home is once again at the Younts Center where we rehearse on Monday nights approximately 40 weeks a year. 

Since 2009 we have been performing major works from the world’s greatest composers, spirituals, Broadway selections, Appalachian arrangements by contemporary composers, commissioned works by contemporary composers, holiday selections, and smaller works by Aaron Copland, Norman Dello Joio, Dan Forrest, Elaine Hagenberg, Shelton Ridge Love, Rollo Dilworth, Andre Thomas, Robert Edgerton, William Dawson, Moses Hogan, Eric Whitacre, and many others.