After years on the Goucher College campus, Peabody Preparatory has a new home in the Towson area.
The pre-college division of Johns Hopkins Peabody Institute announced this week that it has moved its Towson-area location to First and St. Stephen’s United Church of Christ at 6915 York Road in Stoneleigh. It had been located at 949 Dulaney Valley Road on the Goucher campus.
“Our new campus is located near Towson [U]niversity, in a family-friendly neighborhood everyone is going to love!” says a message posted on social media. “The building is ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act] compliant, with plenty of classrooms for instruction, a beautiful sanctuary for performances, and a large dance studio with a stage. We can’t wait to have you here!”
Peabody Preparatory is the Peabody Institute division that offers classes in music and dance to students ranging in age from early childhood through pre-college. Performance opportunities include recitals, concerts, ensemble performances, competitions and master classes.
Located near the intersection of York Road and Regester Avenue, First and St. Stephen’s Church is a prominent stone structure that dates from the 1920s. Its congregation traced its roots to the First German Reformed Church, which was founded in 1750. After starting in Baltimore City, the congregation moved to York Road in 1928 as First and Stephen’s Reformed Church. In the 1930s, it became First and St. Stephen’s Evangelical and Reformed Church. In 1957, it became First and St. Stephen’s United Church of Christ. Faced with declining membership, the congregants put the property up for sale last year.
According to state land records, the church was acquired on December 29, 2025, by Stoneleigh Properties LLC, with a mailing address of 7101 Copeleigh Road in Stoneleigh. The seller was First and St. Stephens Reformed Church, and the price was $1.1 million. In addition to the main church building, the sale to Stoneleigh Properties included a parsonage that Peabody Prep does not occupy.
The Towson location provides an alternative for students and parents who live closer to Towson than to Peabody’s main campus at 1 East Mount Vernon Place in Mount Vernon. Though located in Stoneleigh, it’s also within easy walking distance of the Anneslie, Rodgers Forge and Wiltondale communities, including Dumbarton Middle School, Towson Senior High and Stoneleigh and Rodgers Forge elementary schools.
In addition to the sanctuary and dance studio, Peabody’s building contains multiple classrooms and a range of teaching studios for private lessons, chamber music and small ensembles.
More information is available at www.peabody.jhu.edu/preparatory and www.peabody.jhu.edu/extended-learning/campuses/towson/.
