A musicologist, her work on Franz Schubert and Hugo Wolf is considered some of the most scholarly and useful material on these composers.
[1] As well as her books, she writes program notes for vocal recitals at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
A native of Houston, Texas, she is a professor at the University of Notre Dame, as well as being a frequent guest speaker.
Her twin sister, Laura Youens-Wexler (1947–2019) was also a musicologist whose work was substantially about early Lutheran music.
[2][3] Her awards include the IRC Harrison Medal of the Society for Musicology in Ireland.