Penn Music graduate Wenxin Tu, C’24, has curated an exhibit in the Ormandy Music Gallery with guidance from music librarian Liza Vick. The exhibit was developed from Tu's participation in a new music department seminar led by Senior Lecturer Jamuna Samuel, titled MUSC 1343: Sound, Gender, and the Color Line: The Life and Times of Marian Anderson (1897–1993). The seminar, which took place partly in the archive itself, provided a unique opportunity to engage with historical materials. The exhibit features a selection of correspondence between world-renowned contralto Marian Anderson and symphonic composer Florence Price. Longtime collaborators and friends, Anderson and Price shared the experience of developing their careers in music while navigating the challenges of racial and gender discrimination. This correspondence, reproduced from Marian Anderson’s personal archive—donated to the Penn Libraries—offers a unique glimpse into their artistic relationship and enduring friendship.
Wenxin Tu is an alumna of the University of Pennsylvania, Class of 2024. Growing up in Shanghai, China, she came to Penn for her undergraduate studies, pursuing a major in neuroscience and minors in music and chemistry. Passionate about music and medicine, she hopes to pursue a career as a physician-musician in the future and is currently working as a researcher in a neuroscience lab at the Perelman School of Medicine during her gap years after graduation.
The exhibit is free and open to the public, and will be on view from January 15 to December 15, 2025. Visitors can view the display any time the library is open within the Ormandy Music Gallery, located in the West Elevator Bay on the 4th floor of the Van Pelt Library Center. Those without a PennCard must present a current and valid government or school-issued photo ID that contains an expiration date.