J.J. Wright (born 1984 or 1985) is an American composer, conductor, and piano player who currently serves as the director of the University of Notre Dame Folk Choir in

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

. He is the composer of ''O Emmanuel'', a 2016 Adventide album that drew upon

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

sacred music Religious music (also sacred music) is a type of music that is performed or composed for religious use or through religious influence. It may overlap with ritual music, which is music, sacred or not, performed or composed for or as a ritual. Reli ...

traditions and peaked at number 1 on the ''Billboard'' Traditional Classical Albums chart. Wright is a graduate of the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

, where he earned Master of Sacred Music and

Doctor of Musical Arts The doctor of musical arts (DMA) is a doctorate, doctoral academic degree in music. The DMA combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization (usually Performance, music performance, music composition, or conducting) with graduate-le ...

degrees, and of

The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music The School of Jazz and Contemporary Music is a Private university, private music school of The New School in New York City. It is located on 13th Street (Manhattan), West 13th Street in the neighborhood of Greenwich Village. It was once known ...

, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts.

Early life and education

Wright was born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

. His mother and father, Joanne and Jim Wright, co-founded Catholic F.M. radio station

WLOF WLOF (101.7 Hertz, MHz) is a nonprofit organization, non-commercial FM radio, FM radio station city of license, licensed to Elma, New York and serving the Buffalo metropolitan area. It broadcasts a Catholic church, Catholic Christian talk and ...

, which broadcast in the

Buffalo metropolitan area Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...

. He attended The New School for Jazz for undergraduate education, graduating the school with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

. He later pursued a Master of Sacred Music degree at the University of Notre Dame, the institution from which he would later be awarded

in conducting.

Professional career

In 2014, Wright released his solo debut album, '' Inward Looking Outward''. The album, a series of sacred jazz compositions, received positive reviews. Since then, Wright has published several full albums, including: O Emmanuel, a 2016 Adventide album in the style of sacred jazz that peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Traditional Classical Albums chart; '' Vespers for the Immaculate Conception'', a 2019 album that fused the improvisational style of jazz with that of a traditional sacred choir; and ''The Passion'', a 2023 jazz-free

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

that used the

Passion of Christ The Passion (from latin language, Latin , "to suffer, bear, endure") is the short final period before the death of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, described in the four canonical gospels. It is commemorated in Christianity every year during Holy ...

as a lens through which to interpret and process the sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church. As director of the University of Notre Dame Folk Choir, Wright has also overseen the production of ''Catch the Spirit'', a sacred music album that draws upon the musical traditions of East Africans and of

African-Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

. Wright has also performed as a part of the

United States Naval Academy Band The United States Naval Academy Band was officially founded in November 1852. Previously, there had been a band since the founding of the Naval Academy in 1845, consisting of a fifer and a drummer. The band consists of US Navy career musicians. T ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, J.J. 20th-century American composers 21st-century American composers The New School alumni University of Notre Dame alumni Jazz musicians from New York (state) Musicians from Buffalo, New York 1980s births Living people Year of birth uncertain Sacred music composers American jazz pianists American male jazz pianists American male jazz composers