Townsend-McAfee Institute for Graduate Studies in Church Music

Stained glass windows inside of a chapel

Welcome to The Townsend-McAfee Institute for Graduate Church Music Studies, created in 2005 as a collaboration with Mercer University’s Townsend School of Music in Macon and McAfee School of Theology in Atlanta. The Townsend-McAfee Institute prepares musical artists for ministry.

The Townsend-McAfee Institute offers five different degrees to aspiring graduate students:

Professional performers and conductors who desire to be leaders not only in their musical discipline, but also in a local church or community music ministry may choose to add the “with an Emphasis in Church Music” designation to their degree.

The Townsend-McAfee Institute provides intensive training in the areas of scholarship, musicianship, leadership, discipleship and worship arts. Townsend School of Music is an institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Music, and all of its degrees prepare musicians to enter the field as a professional artist or continue studies at the doctoral level.

In addition, the Townsend-McAfee Institute fosters an environment of mentorship, empowerment, and collaboration. Our students work with leading church music scholars, church musicians, conductors, and church leaders throughout the United States.

The Townsend-McAfee Institute Graduate Studies in Church Music has been made possible through a gift from James and Carolyn McAfee. The program is named in honor and memory of Mrs. McAfee’s parents, Sophia Malin Townsend and Raymond Clay Townsend.

If you have any questions or would like to receive more information, please contact Dr. Jack Mitchener, Director of The Townsend-McAfee Institute, by calling (478) 301-4012 or 1 (800) MERCER-U, ext. 4012, or mitchener_je@mercer.edu.