The University of Louisville Cardinal Singers is a choir consisting of between 29 and 40 members, and is the most selective choral ensemble at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.
The Cardinal Singers were founded in 1970 under the name University Singers by the late William C. Lathon, former University of Louisville professor in the Schools of Music and Education, as an outreach organization for the University of Louisville. In 1980 they were appointed by then Governor John Y. Brown, Jr. as Commonwealth of Kentucky "ambassadors of good will." Mr. Lathon conducted the ensemble until 1991, when Shirley Wilkinson, long-time Jefferson County Public Schools (Kentucky) choral director, took over the leadership of the Singers. Dr. Kent Hatteberg began conducting the ensemble in 1997, and the name was changed to "Cardinal Singers" in 1998 to include the school's mascot. The ensemble rehearses twice weekly, and students receive a half credit for participation.
The outreach mission of the Cardinal Singers continues as a focus today, and the Singers have made a number of appearances nationally and internationally participating in competitions, seminars, and benefits.
Locally, the Cardinal Singers perform for a variety of community events on and off campus, ranging from holiday concerts at the Louisville Speed Art Museum and St Martin of Tours Catholic Church for the WUOL Holiday Concert to singing the national anthem at the Louisville Cardinals basketball games. In February 2004 the Cardinal Singers were selected to perform at the American Choral Directors Association Southern Division Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. In July 2005 they gave a concert/demonstration for the Kentucky Choral Directors Association Summer Symposium and sang for the conducting session led by Anton Armstrong. In February 2006, the Cardinal Singers performed at the Kentucky Music Educators Association Conference and received wide acclaim.