Lydia Bangura is a doctoral student in music theory at the University of Michigan, where she began in Fall 2021. She also holds a bachelor’s degree from Northern Arizona University (Class of 2019) and a master’s degree from Roosevelt University (Class of 2021), both in vocal performance. Bangura was recently selected as an associate artist at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, where she had the honor of studying with mentor artist Dr. Philip Ewell. She currently co-hosts and edits a podcast series, “Her Music Academia.” Her research interests include the intersection of performance and analysis, theory pedagogy, Black feminism/womanism in Black women’s music, and the instrumental works of Florence Price. Also a lifelong music performer, Bangura has experience studying violin, viola, and voice. Her recent operatic roles include Papagena in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Ellen Orford in Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes, and the solo soprano in Judith Weir’s one woman show, King Harald's Saga.