David Lee Wright (born December 1, 1949) is a mathematics professor, barbershop arranger, and Associate Director of the Ambassadors of Harmony (AOH). He is a noted

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

historian and arranger, especially in the barbershop style where in 12 of 18 years from 1999 to 2016, his arrangements resulted in chorus gold medals at the

Barbershop Harmony Society The Barbershop Harmony Society, legally and historically named the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc. (SPEBSQSA), is the first of several organizations to promote and preserve barbersho ...

(BHS) International Contest. Wright travels the world as a barbershop historian, coach, and mathematics lecturer.

Early life

Wright grew up in

Mattoon, Illinois Mattoon ( ) is a city in Coles County, Illinois, United States. The population was 16,870 as of the 2020 census. The city is home to Lake Land College and has close ties with its neighbor, Charleston, Illinois, Charleston. Both are principal cit ...

, and currently lives in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. He graduated from David Lipscomb University in Nashville then earned his Ph.D. in Mathematics at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. He joined the faculty of

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

in 1972. He is married to Sandi Wright, Sweet Adelines International Quartet Champion of 1978 and 1986 with Tetrachords and Ambiance.

Career

Wright is retired from his position as a professor of Mathematics in the

Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis is home to the College of Arts and Sciences and corresponding graduate programs across its many departments. The current Dean of the Faculty is Feng Sheng Hu, the Lucille P. Markey Distingui ...

, where he also served as Chair of the Mathematics Department for several years. His research of affine algebraic geometry and polynomial automorphisms has led to publications and invitations to speak at international mathematics conferences. He designed and teaches a university course in Mathematics and Music, and has directed seminars across the globe on that topic.

Barbershop harmony

Wright is an arranger and composer of vocal music, where his work often integrates the close harmony barbershop style with jazz, gospel, contemporary a cappella and more. He is the Associate Director of the Ambassadors of Harmony, an award-winning male chorus of 130 singers. He was inducted into the Barbershop Harmony Society Hall of Fame in 2008. He has arranged hundreds of songs in the barbershop style, including some co-arranged with Deke Sharon, and has earned four international chorus gold medals with the Ambassadors of Harmony. As a

quartet In music, a quartet (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations of four instruments in chamber music is the string quartet. String quar ...

singer he has won three district championships. He has appeared on national radio and TV broadcasts, and has authored several articles on

vocal harmony Vocal harmony is a style of vocal music in which a consonant note or notes are simultaneously sung as a main melody in a predominantly homophonic texture. Vocal harmonies are used in many subgenres of European art music, including Classical ...

, as well as a textbook on mathematics and music.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, David 1949 births Living people American music arrangers Barbershop music 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians Washington University in St. Louis mathematicians Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Lipscomb University alumni People from Mattoon, Illinois Musicians from St. Louis