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Trumpet player Wilmer Wise was the first African-American faculty member at the Peabody Institute and the first African-American member of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

This is a photo of Upton Mansion from 1936, eleven years before it housed the Baltimore Institute of Musical Arts. The Institute was a thriving music school open to all races at a time when Peabody remained closed to African-American students.

Upton Mansion, a historic building in the Upton neighborhood in Baltimore, housed the Baltimore Institute of Musical Arts from 1947-1954. Once a beautiful facility that was home to a vibrant music community, it has been abandoned since 2006.

Crystal Larkins sent this letter to Peabody Public Relations Director Anne Garside following Ellis Larkins’ receipt of an honorary Bachelor’s Degree from Johns Hopkins the month before.

This letter from Johns Hopkins University President Steven Muller to pianist Ellis Larkins congratulates Larkins on his recent receipt of an honorary Bachelor’s Degree from Johns Hopkins.

After receiving a letter from Crystal Larkins about the experiences her husband, pianist Ellis Larkins, had at Peabody, Conservatory Director Robert Pierce responded with this letter.

Although he studied with Peabody faculty members off campus, pianist Ellis Larkins could not officially enroll at Peabody because of his race. He received this acceptance and scholarship letter from the Juilliard School of Music during the summer…

Pianist Ellis Larkins, a Baltimore native and child prodigy, was never allowed to enroll at the Peabody campus. This enrollment record from the 1939-1940 school year notes his studies with Peabody faculty member Pasquale Tallarico who taught him at…

In the summer of 1963, President Kennedy sent a letter to schools across the country requesting a report on their implementation of non-discriminatory admission policies. William Marbury, Charles Kent, and U.S. Commissioner of Education Francis…

Karl Porter sent this letter to Charles Kent informing him of his decision not to return to Peabody.

Dr. Kent,

I will not hesitate to tell you that the check you had sent to me arrived right on time! Thanks again for saving me!!!
…