Jen Townsley, D.M.A.

Originating from the state of New York, Dr. Jen Townsley is an instructor of voice, language diction and opera workshop at Jewell. Townsley has a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Missouri Kansas City Conservatory of Music, where she was awarded the Harriette Yeckel Award, the William L. and Caroline M. French Award and was also named the UMKC Conservatory Superior Graduate Teaching Assistant. Her doctoral research includes LGBTQIA+ inclusion in collegiate voice studies, opera curriculum development, contemporary singing styles in music education, and novel research on French composer Charles Koechlin and his Shéhérazade songs.

Prior to joining the voice faculty at William Jewell, Townsley was a voice instructor at Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy in Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. She specializes in vocal pedagogy and stagecraft to ensure that her students can become creative, expressive and healthy singing artists. Recent directing credits include Jewell's opera production of "Songs, Scenes and One Acts" (director), Scheherazade Music Festival's children opera "The Three Little Pigs" (director), Atlantic Music Festival’s "Dido and Aeneas" (assistant director) and selected opera scenes (director), and Cedar Rapids Opera Theater’s production of Menotti’s "The Telephone" (director, and Lucy).

As a soprano, Townsley has performed as a featured artist and soloist with Scheherazade Music Festival and Atlantic Music Festival. She was recently featured on KPR's Live Performance studio performing award-winning composer Laurent Courbier's "From The Chrysalis." Recent dramatic roles include the Queen of the Night in Mozart's "Die Zauberflote," L'Ensolliead in Massenet's "Chérubin," and Mariann Paroo in the musical "The Music Man."