Panzhen (Panpan) Wu

Panzhen (Panpan) Wu is a Chinese composer, theatre songwriter, audio engineer, violinist, and vocalist. Her eclectic compositional style spans orchestral works, chamber ensembles, culturally infused music, as well as ambient, pop, rock, electronic, and experimental genres. She is passionate about collaborating on projects with compelling narratives and distinctive aesthetics that provoke deep reflection. Recent film highlights include Safari (a documentary on a North Korean girl’s identity), Tales of Kingston College (a dark comedy feature), and Sansei (a story of intergenerational relationships).

In her multimedia work, Panpan collaborates with multicultural and multidisciplinary artists, contributing to all aspects of musical storytelling, from theme songs to transitional cues. She is known for blending historically and culturally significant music with contemporary sounds, using organic melodies and synthesizers to create a dynamic sense of temporal transformation. Her recent theatrical credits include President’s Invitation and Metamorphosis.

Active in NYC’s musical theatre scene, she is a songwriting auditor at the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop and has served as a music assistant, orchestrator, and copyist for Maestra’s First Take.

Currently, Panpan is pursuing an M.M. in Screen Scoring at New York University, where she is mentored by award-winning musicians Jamie Lawrence, Mandy Hoffman, Greg Pliska, and Alba S. Torremocha. She holds bachelor's degrees in Music and Applied Mathematics from the University of Rochester, where she studied with Mark Watters, Robert LaVaque, and Stephen Roessner. Her academic background also includes intensive studies in philosophy, music cognition, audio technology, and film.