OUR DIRECTORS

William Bennett

Mr. Bennett is the Director of Choirs at Cane Bay High School and the Director of Music at Summerville Presbyterian Church.  He was selected as a top 10 finalist for the 2015 GRAMMY Music Educator Award and a top 25 Semi-Finalist for the 2023 GRAMMY Music Educator Award.  He was the 2009-2010 Cane Bay High School Teacher of the Year.  He has led clinics on leadership in a music classroom, choral techniques, and sight singing for SCMEA and SC ACDA, and has served as a choral clinician for SCMEA Middle School Clinics.  He served as the SC ACDA President (2017 - 2019) and on the Solo and Ensemble and All-State Committees for SCMEA

Choirs under his direction have performed at multiple SC ACDA and SCMEA Conferences, the ACDA Chattanooga and Mobile Southern Division Conferences, the Piccolo Spoleto Festival and in the Washington National Cathedral. Cane Bay Choirs consistently receive Superior ratings with Distinction and Grand Champion distinctions at numerous choral festivals, including being named the 2016 AAAA State Champions and the 2019 Palmetto State Choral Festival Grand Champions.  Additionally, they were named the 2018 and 2022 Georgia Southern Invitational Grand Champions, the 2016 Lander Choral Festival Champions and the 2017 College of Charleston choral invitational Grand Champions.

Previous appointments include: Conductor of the University Chorus and Adjunct Professor of Music at the College of Charleston; Assistant Conductor of the Taylor Festival Choir; and Associate Director of Choirs at Wando High School.  

He holds a Masters Degree in Music: Choral and Orchestral Conducting from Louisiana State University where he studied conducting with Dr. Kenneth Fulton, Dr. Sara Lynn Baird and Dr. Julian Shew.  While there, Mr. Bennett also served as the Director of the LSU Tiger Glee Club and as a Graduate Assistant.  Mr. Bennett performed as a guest conductor, choir member and soloist with the LSU A Cappella Choir, LSU Schola Cantorum, LSU Chamber Singers and the LSU Orchestra.  

He holds a BA in Music: Vocal Performance from the College of Charleston, where he graduated Cum Laude.  He was the inaugural recipient of the Charleston Men’s Chorus Scholarship at the College of Charleston.  Mr. Bennett studied conducting with Dr. Robert Taylor and voice with  Mrs. Deanna McBroom and Mr.  Ross Magoulas.  At "the College" he also served as the Student Assistant Conductor of the College of Charleston Concert Choir and Madrigal Singers. 

As a singer, he has performed with the College of Charleston Concert Choir and Madrigal Singers, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra Choir and Chamber Singers, the Charleston Men's Chorus, The Taylor Festival Choir, CofC Opera and for Opera Workshop performances at the College of Charleston. He played the role of the Royal Chamberlain in Celius Dougherty’s one-act opera, Many Moons for the 2004 Piccolo Spoleto Theatre Series.  Mr Bennett was a guest soloist with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chamber Singers in their Piccolo Spoleto performance of Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610.  He was also a featured soloist in a performance of Serenade to Music by Ralph Vaughn Williams with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra and Chorus for the NCCO National Conference in Charleston. 

Katie Smith

Katie Smith serves as the Co-Director of Choirs and Unified Music Teacher at Cane Bay High School. She was selected as a Teacher of the Year finalist and previously recognized as the 2016–2017 Rookie Teacher of the Year. A passionate advocate for music education, Mrs. Smith has served as a choral clinician for middle school programs throughout South Carolina and has presented clinics on teaching students with special needs in the music classroom at colleges and universities across the Southeast. She is an active member of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), and the South Carolina Music Educators Association (SCMEA).

Under her direction, choirs have consistently earned Superior ratings at Concert Performance Assessments and are frequently invited to perform at community events. Prior to her current role, Mrs. Smith served as Director of Choirs at Cane Bay Middle School from 2016–2023, where she taught 5th–8th grade choir, inclusion general music, and Project Unify.

Mrs. Smith earned her Bachelor of Music Education in Instrumental and Choral Education from Belmont University, where she studied with Dr. Jeffrey Ames, Dr. Barry Kraus, and Dr. Madeline Bridges. During her time at Belmont, she interned with the University Women’s Choir under the direction of Dr. Lesley Mann. She also served as co-principal flutist with the Symphony Orchestra and University Wind Ensemble and as principal piccolo player for both ensembles. An accomplished performer, she regularly appeared with collegiate ensembles in both commercial and classical settings. She went on to earn her Master’s Degree in Choral Pedagogy from Westminster Choir College at Rider University, graduating in the top 1% of her class.

As a vocalist, Mrs. Smith has performed with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, where she briefly served as soprano section leader, as well as the Taylor Festival Choir and Church of the Holy Communion. She currently serves as Soprano Section Leader at Bishop Gadsden in Charleston, South Carolina, and regularly performs with the Franklin Chamber Choir in Franklin, Tennessee. As a flutist, she frequently performs for churches throughout the Charleston area and is a member of the Charleston Wind Symphony.

Through her work as an educator and performer, Mrs. Smith is committed to fostering musical excellence, creating inclusive opportunities for students, and inspiring the next generation of musicians.