Louisville Chorus · Kentucky’s longest continuously performing chorus, Louisville, Kentucky.
The Louisville Chorus began in 1939, when Father Joseph Emrich gathered singers at Holy Name Catholic Church in Louisville, Kentucky and called them the Holy Name Choral Club. The choir gave its first public performance at Columbia Auditorium in 1940. In 1942 women joined the ensemble, and wartime concerts at the Iroquois Amphitheater raised proceeds for the U.S.O.
Joseph Herde succeeded Father Emrich as Music Director in 1958. Richard Spalding began a twenty-year tenure in 1967 that shaped the ensemble’s sound, and in 1969 Therese Davis joined as collaborative pianist, beginning one of the longest partnerships in the organization’s story. The choir sang Verdi’s Requiem with the Louisville Orchestra in 1970.
The ensemble became non-denominational in 1972 and took the name The Choral Club of Louisville. Therese Davis became Executive Director in 1981 and guided the organization for more than forty years. A European Sister Cities tour to Mainz and Montpellier followed in 1985, along with Carmina Burana with the Louisville Ballet.
In 1987 the ensemble took the name it carries today, the Louisville Chorus, and sang Mahler’s Second Symphony with the Louisville Orchestra. Richard Sowers led the chorus as Artistic Director in 1989. Daniel Spurlock became Artistic Director in 1991 and led through 2002; S. Timothy Glasscock followed from 2002 to 2009; Spurlock then returned, and a performance was filmed for international broadcast on EWTN.
Therese Davis retired in 2023 after fifty-four years as pianist and forty-two as Executive Director. In 2024 Dr. David Borman became Artistic Director with Jenna Preston as Executive Director, and in their first season they founded the Fleur de Lis Singers, the chorus’s chamber ensemble. In 2025 Daniel Spurlock and Therese Davis were named Artistic Director Emeritus and Executive Director Emerita.
The 2026-27 season, In Every Tongue, is the eighty-seventh, carrying the Louisville Chorus into its ninth decade as Kentucky’s longest continuously performing choral organization.
Louisville Chorus · 601 Nottingham Pkwy, Louisville, KY 40222
502-324-5233 · info@louisvillechorus.org
One pass, the whole year. Our full 2026 – 27 season across Louisville and southern Indiana, at one price. On sale through September 30.
