Derek J. Wright is a freelance hornist in Phoenix, Arizona. He currently plays as a substitute with the Phoenix Symphony, along with multiple other organizations in Arizona. Derek is an active soloist and frequently gives well-received recitals. In January 2010 he recorded his first full-length solo album. This recording contains transcriptions of Mendelssohn and Schubert lieder and is due for release in the Fall of 2010! Derek is also an experienced chamber musician and plays with the Fountain Hills Chamber Players. During his summers he has appeared at multiple music festivals including the Brevard Music Center, the Burgos Chamber Music Festival (Spain), the American Wind Symphony Orchestra, and the Masterworks Music Festival.

As a scholar of music, Dr. Wright has reconstructed and transcribed a book of historically significant Mendelssohn and Schubert lieder (originally transcribed by Friedrich Gumpert) for horn and piano. It will be released in the Summer of 2010. He has also conducted research into the effective and practical use of recording technology for performance, pedagogical, and practice purposes and is currently working on a book related to the subject.

From 2007-2010 Dr. Wright was the Teaching Assistant for the Arizona State University Horn Studio. In this role he taught private lessons to undergraduate students (majors and non-majors), instructed studio classes, conducted the ASU Horn Choir, judged undergraduate juries and auditions, and helped with the day to day operation of the studio. Dr. Wright also developed and taught a horn methods class to aspiring music educators for three semesters. During his time at ASU he played Principal Horn with the Arizona State University Symphony Orchestra, co-principal horn with the Arizona State University Wind Ensemble, and was a member of the Arizona State University Teaching Assistant Wind Quintet.

Asides from his teaching duties at Arizona State University, Derek J. Wright has maintained a private studio of horn students since 2006.

Dr. Wright holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Arizona State University, a Master of Music degree from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Illinois – Urbana-Champaign.  He has studied horn with John Ericson, Herbert Winslow, Kazimierz Machala, Gabriel Kovach, Daniel Katzen, Richard Deane, Robert Rydel, Michael Gast, Brian Jensen, and Ellen Dinwiddie Smith.