Rivertree Singers desires to delight and inspire arts communities across the globe with meaningful and life-giving experiences that enrich the heart and mind.
Rivertree Singers exists to give voice to the human experience. We do this through the highest level of choral artistry, building connections within our community through music, and supporting and encouraging emerging artists and composers.
Founded in 2010, Rivertree Singers is a choral ensemble whose members are alumni of collegiate choral organizations from across the state and who share a passion for choral singing and giving back to the Greenville arts community. Our name reflects a love for the beautiful trees and river that have been the inspiration for the city’s model revitalization. What began as a small group of singers desiring an artistic outlet has grown into an internationally recognized community arts organization of disciplined singers, professionals, artists, and teachers.
Rivertree Singers offers five concerts each season in addition to hosting The Rivertree Singers & Friends Choral Festival each summer.
Warren Cook is the founder and artistic director of the internationally acclaimed and award-winning Rivertree Singers. He earned the Doctor of Musical Arts in choral conducting from the University of South Carolina and pursued additional study at Westminster Choir College and Bob Jones University.
Cook is Professor Emeritus and former Director of Choral Activities at Bob Jones University, where he conducted the university’s premier choral ensembles and oversaw a comprehensive, graded program of five choirs totaling nearly 300 students. During his tenure, he taught undergraduate and graduate courses in conducting, choral literature, and methods, and conducted numerous major choral-orchestral performances. He has also conducted performances in prestigious venues including Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall.
His ensembles have appeared as auditioned performers at international and national conferences, including those of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) and the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). Cook is also in frequent demand throughout the United States as a clinician, adjudicator, and guest conductor for choral workshops and festivals.
Each summer, he leads the Rivertree Singers & Friends Choral Festival. In 2019, more than 120 choral musicians from across the country joined the Rivertree Singers and Festival Orchestra to perform Robert Shaw’s final contribution to the choral repertoire—an unpublished English edition of Ein deutsches Requiem by Johannes Brahms.
Under Cook’s leadership, the Rivertree Singers won the grand prize in the Oxford University Press Choral Advent Competition and have also received national recognition from The American Prize. In 2019, Cook was honored with the South Carolina chapter of the American Choral Directors Association’s inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award.
In addition to his distinguished academic and conducting career, Cook served for more than 30 years as a pastor of music and worship.
Laura Cook Brundage is an Assistant Professor and Head of the Vocal Studies Department at Bob Jones University where she also conducts the BJU Lyric Choir. Laura is an active solo performer with credits in both musical theater and classical productions. Since 2019, Laura has served as Executive Director of the award-winning community choir Rivertree Singers that has been featured throughout the southeast including at The Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC and multiple ACDA Southern Division Conferences. Laura also serves as the Artistic Director and conductor of Chamber Singers for Greenville Youth Chorale, a non-profit children’s choir serving over 100 singers in the Greenville area. Laura regularly adjudicates competitions and teaches both vocal and choral masterclasses across the Southeast. Laura completed a Master of Music in Vocal Performance and has since done further study through NYSTA, Northwestern University and the CCM Institute at Shenandoah University.
Jean Cook is collaborative pianist for Greenville’s Rivertree Singers and retired assistant professor who served on the Bob Jones University piano and piano pedagogy faculties for over 40 years. Jean has a MM in piano performance from BJU, has extensive training in piano pedagogy, is a specialist in training pre-college piano teachers and is a certified Kindermusik instructor. During Jean’s extensive education and performing career she founded and operated Eastside Kindermusik and has been a featured presenter and clinician for numerous workshops and festivals. She was also a highly requested adjudicator for the Music Teachers National Association and the National Guild of Piano Teachers. Jean has served as collaborative pianist for numerous university and church choirs, including the BJU Chorale and the BJU Chamber Singers. Jean also is an accomplished actress who has appeared in many Shakespearean leading roles. She and her husband Warren have three children and six grandchildren.
Through partnerships with local educational institutions, The Rivertree Singers Choral Scholars Program invites students currently enrolled in music programs across the city to audition to sing with Rivertree for a season. This provides an enriching opportunity for students to participate in a community-based choral ensemble and gain first-hand experience of reaching into their community through music.
Rivertree Singers also offers The Rivertree Singers Internship Program. This program offers an enriching opportunity for students currently enrolled in a music program at local universities to work within the context of a non-profit organization alongside choral professionals, gaining a first-hand understanding of community outreach through music. The internship program provides opportunities for students to participate behind-the-scenes in the organization and gain an understanding of how an arts organization can function effectively in a community.
Rivertree Singers is choir-in-residence at Bob Jones University and is sponsored in part by grants from the Metropolitan Arts Council of Greenville, South Carolina and corporate and individual donations. Rivertree Singers is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization.
