Mission Statement:

The mission of the Lexington County Choral Society (LCCS) is to provide a talented vocal ensemble for Lexington County which will actively prepare and perform varied and challenging repertoire representative of our diverse global communities for the purposes of enriching the lives of others and promoting cultural heritage.

History:

LCCS began as most things do - simply as an idea in the minds of two individuals, Harold and Linda Scott McIntosh. The idea was to have a community choral group that would specialize in not just major choral works, but in the vast repertoire of choral anthems that exist. It was hoped that forty people or so would be interested in starting the first season. On the first night of auditions, August 6, 1996, around twenty-six people came out. "So we're on our way!" Then... a week later... on the second night of auditions... an overwhelming sixty-three people came out! The word had gotten out!!! The first rehearsal was held on September 3rd, 1996, at St. Stephen's Lutheran Church in downtown Lexington, SC.

Our first concerts, December 12, 13, 14 of 1996 were performed by a group of seventy-two singers. In the spring of 1997, our group had grown to around eighty-two. In the fall of 1997 our group grew to ninety-two. Now we sing with over 100 members in this exciting organization.

During our first two years we presented two concerts per year, a holiday concert in December and a general concert in May. the American Choral Directors Association invited us to perform in their October 1998 Convocation at the Koger Center for the Arts in Columbia, SC. We traveled to Charleston, SC in June 2000 to participate in Piccolo Spoleto by presenting a concert at St. Matthews Lutheran Church. Maestro Nicholas Smith invited us to perform as guest choir with the SC Philharmonic on their "Blue Jeans Night" concert in February 2001. A few months afterwards, the choir toured Italy performing in Venice, Rimini, Pontedera, Siena, and Acila, Rome. Then again in February 2005, we were asked to sing with the SC Philharmonic for the "Be My Valentine" concert.

Throughout the years LCCS has performed a vast array of outstanding choral literature to include many time honored standards by the choral masters such as Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Verdi, and Copland to the more contemporary ones of Rutter, Lauridson, Chilcott, Wilberg, Forrest, and Martin. Extended masterworks have included Faure's Requiem and Haydn's Creation. In May 2009 we presented Dr. Timothy Powell's The Wedding Mass as a debut performance in South Carolina. In addition to all of this memorable repertoire, LCCS has hosted many area school choirs as guest artists, such as Brookland-Cayce High School Honors Chorus, Gilbert High School Honors Choirs, Lexington High School Chamber Choir, Batesburg-Leesville High School Chorus, and White Knoll High School Concert Choir. Middle and Elementary School choirs were from such districts as Lexington One, Lexington-Richland 5, and Lexington Four.

LCCS believes in perpetuating the musical arts in the Midlands, as well as in Lexington County. As a result of this, two scholarship opportunities were originated to assist aspiring high school singers and pianists. The H. T. Lorick, Jr. Vocal Scholarship auditions occur in the fall of each year and the Sylvia E. Looney Piano Scholarship auditions in the spring. Scholarship recipients receive a monetary award to better prepare them for college auditions and are given an opportunity to perform as a guest artist on one of our regular season concerts. In addition, LCCS has been the parent sponsor to two musical groups, the Lexington County Youth Choral and the Lake Murray Symphony Orchestra.