Mary McDonald (composer)

Mary McDonald (born 1956) is an American composer, arranger, producer, pianist, and organist.

Mary McDonald showed an early talent for music, playing hymns by ear by age five.

She graduated from Carson-Newman College in East Tennessee in 1978 and took her first position as an organist at Beaver Dam Baptist Church in Knoxville.

She was self-taught as a keyboard player and did not read music well, so improvised the music.

With her husband's help, McDonald transcribed tapes of the services which were accepted for publication in Pedalpoint Magazine.

With the encouragement of music publisher John Purifoy, she composed her first choral anthem in 1983.

Besides composing, McDonald works as a choral clinician throughout the United States, conducting workshops.

In 1985 she took a position as accompanist for the Tennessee Men’s Chorale.

In 2000 she served as the first woman President of the Southern Baptist Church Music Conference.

McDonald worked as a sacred choral editor for The Lorenz Corporation for nearly twenty years and continues to work for them as a consultant.

She also serves as the organist for Central Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee.

McDonald is a member of the American Guild of Organists (AGO) and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).

She received a second place award from the John Ness Beck Foundation for her composition "Yes, My Jesus Loves Me."

Mary and her husband, architect, Brian McDonald live in Dandridge, Tennessee•.

They have two married children and five grandchildren.

Daughter, Bethany, teaches K-12 Music at Berean Christian School in Knoxville and son, Chris, is Worship Pastor of Music at Trinity Baptist Church in Jonesborough, Tennessee.

McDonald is prolific as a composer.

She has published over 1000 choral anthems, cantatas and keyboard collections.

Selected compositions include: