Josephine Wright facts for kids

Josephine Rosa Beatrice Wright, born on September 5, 1942, is an American musicologist. A musicologist is a person who studies music history and culture. She is famous for her important work on African-American music and the role of women in music. Since 1981, she has been a professor of music at the College of Wooster in Ohio. She also holds a special title there, the Josephine Lincoln Morris Professor of Black Studies. In 2015, she received a special award for her lifetime of amazing work from the Society for American Music.

About Josephine Wright

Early Life and Education

Josephine Wright was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1942. She loved music and learning from a young age. She went to college and earned several degrees in music. She received her first degree, a bachelor's degree, from the University of Missouri. She then earned two master's degrees in music, one from Pius XII Academy in Florence and another from the University of Missouri. Later, she earned her highest degree, a doctoral degree, in historical musicology from New York University. She was the second African American woman to earn a doctorate in music. Her mentor and friend, Eileen Southern, was the first.

Teaching and Research

Dr. Wright started her teaching career at Harvard University. She was an assistant professor in the Afro-American studies department from 1976 to 1981. In 1981, she moved to the College of Wooster in Ohio. There, she became a professor of music. She also received the special title of Josephine Lincoln Morris Professor of Black Studies. As of 2020, she continued to teach and inspire students at the College of Wooster.

Dr. Wright is known as a top expert in several areas. These include African-American music, the history of women in music, black women's history, and Western music history. She has written many important books and articles. With Eileen Southern, she co-wrote two significant books. One is called African-American Traditions in Song, Sermon, Tale, and Dance, 1600s-1920, published in 1990. The other is Images: Iconography of Music in African-American Culture, 1770s-1920s, published in 2000. She also served as the editor for a well-known music magazine, American Music, from 1994 to 1997. In 1997, she was chosen to be part of the national artistic leadership for the American Classical Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Cincinnati.

Awards and Recognition

Josephine Wright has received many honors for her contributions to musicology. In 2015, the Society for American Music gave her a Lifetime Achievement Award. This award recognized all her hard work and dedication over many years. In 2019, she was made an honorary member of the American Musicological Society. This honor was given to her because she was a pioneer. A pioneer is someone who is among the first to explore or develop something new. She helped open up the study and teaching of women's and African Americans' involvement in music.