Arkansas Center
for Black Music

The country's first Master of Music in Black Sacred Music program will be offered at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville beginning in the summer of 2023, following approval Wednesday by the University of Arkansas trustees. Though there are several sacred music programs around the country, this will be the first master's program to focus on Black sacred music, and the university said it expects most students will graduate after three years/summers.

Through the generosity of the Alice L. Walton Foundation, the U of A is now the home of the Arkansas Center for Black Music, as well as the only Master of Music in Black Sacred Music degree in the United States. Both the center and the new degree's creation are being led by Grammy Award-winning educator Jeffrey Allen Murdock, who is also the U of A's director of choral activities, an associate professor of music and conductor of the university's renowned Inspirational Chorale.

“No other such degree program exists in the United States. Our program is supported by a gift from the Alice L. Walton Foundation. This three-year M.M. program, a summer-only program, will be housed within the Department of Music at the University of Arkansas. While there are several sacred music programs throughout the United States, this program is forward-looking by virtue of its focus specifically on Black Sacred Music.”