Sandlapper Singers co-founder Dr. Lillian Quackenbush announces retirement

The Sandlapper Singers of Columbia have announced that artistic director and co-founder Dr. Lillian Quackenbush will retire at the end of the 2016 season. The transition begins with the hiring of a general manager for the organization in 2014. The search for a new artistic director begins in January 2015 with the goal of selecting three candidates by summer 2015. These three candidates will each be asked to join Dr. Quackenbush to prepare and conduct the chorus on one of the three series concerts in the 2015-2016 season. The candidate chosen will join the organization in July 2016.

About The Sandlapper Singers
The Sandlapper Singers, South Carolina’s premier professional chorus, was established in 1996 by Lillian and Dave Quackenbush and has presented American music in a uniquely entertaining and engaging style since that time. The 34-voice auditioned ensemble is currently in its 19th season, performing an annual subscription series in the Columbia area. The Singers also presents additional performances each year in communities across the state of South Carolina and the Southeast and has performed overseas. The group is directed and conducted by co-founder Dr. Lillian Quackenbush, retired chairman of the Columbia College music department and recipient of the 2012 Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Governor’s Award for Life Time Achievement in the Arts, sponsored by the South Carolina Arts Commission. The Singers focus on the works of American composers past and present, a departure from the usual programming of European choral literature, offering a delightful mix of both familiar and new musical sounds. The organization has established a strongly supported educational program with the Young Sandlapper Singers, the Katie Quackenbush Vocal Scholarship for high school students, and a Side-By-Side program for high school choral ensembles — the next generation of Sandlapper Singers!