Lindsay Wright

In this episode, I chat with Professor Lindsay Wright from Yale University. Professor Lindsay Wright is a music historian and ethnographer specializing in 19th- and 20th-century American music, musical talent and giftedness, and African American history. Her research explores how performance and pedagogy intersect with systems of privilege, covering topics from 19th-century musician Thomas “Blind Tom” Wiggins to modern talent shows. She is currently working on a book, Talent Show: Musicality, Meritocracy, and the Aesthetics of Exclusion, which examines how talent shows have shaped cultural ideas of innate musicality. Professor Wright holds a PhD from the University of Chicago and has taught, conducted, and performed in various educational settings.