Chorale Acadienne was formed in September 1979 with financial support from the city of Lafayette. The next year the state of Louisiana awarded the organization a touring grant to fund performances in cities and towns throughout Acadiana. Michael Goudeau was named Music Director and the first Board of Directors' President was Dr. Gerald Hubbell.

From its inception the mission of Chorale Acadienne has been to present the great masterpieces of choral literature to the people of Acadiana. Chorale's first concert, a performance of the Fauré Requiem and Bruckner's Te Deum, was presented in October 1979. This program was repeated in Opelousas and Abbeville. For the next several years Chorale Acadienne prepared programs and presented concerts in Lafayette and neighboring towns, including Franklin, Crowley, Bunkie, Baton Rouge, and Eunice. By 1987 Chorale had acquired a set of risers, a piano, and regular rehearsal space at the Acadiana Arts Council building. Soon afterwards, Chorale presented its first subscription series in Lafayette at Our Lady of Fatima Church. First Presbyterian Church became the rehearsal locale. In December of 1984 Chorale performances were moved to the Cathedral of St. John, where it performs to this day. Chorale Acadienne first performed with full orchestra in 1981, and since 1985 all concerts have been given with the orchestral accompaniment required by the music. In 1985, Chorale revised it's programming by instituting a three-concert subscription season and in 1990 added a special event dinner and program which is currently used as a fund-raiser.

For Chorale Acadienne's initial subscription season fewer than one hundred season tickets were sold. Since then Chorale has built a solid audience base, with more than seven hundred season ticket holders, sold-out Christmas concerts for fifteen years, and solid support from contributors.

The 1995-1996 season saw the retirement of Musical Director Michael Goudeau. He was succeeded by Dr. Leon Henry, who holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from LSU. Under Dr. Henry's baton, Chorale Acadienne presented exciting programs ranging from the Renaissance to the contemporary repertoire, including guest artists from New York and Minneapolis. The season featured guest appearances by the USL Children's Choir and the USL Chorale.

In the 20th Anniversary season of Chorale Acadienne, Dr. James Haygood succeeded Dr. Henry as Musical Director and Conductor. Since then, there have been tremendous growth within all aspects of the organization and the 2007-2008 Season continues this trend.

Chorale Acadienne has received both local and national critical acclaim as one of the South's premier choral groups. Chorale has performed in concert with the New Orleans Philharmonic Orchestra, the Baton Rouge Symphony, the Kennedy Center (in collaboration with Catholic University of America). In 2002 Chorale travelled to Prague Czech Republic to perform Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. Recently Chorale Acadienne was honored to premier Dr. Paul Baker's Requiem of Psalms on June 12, 2005 in Carnegie Hall.

Guest conductors include Vance George, the Grammy Award-Winning director of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, and Joseph Flummerfelt of the Westminster Choir College.

As a not-for-profit arts organization, Chorale Acadienne relies almost entirely on ticket sales and corporate and individial contributions to maintain its excellence in programming each concert season.