(BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ) -- Wharton Arts, New Jersey’s largest non-profit community performing arts education organization announced its 2022-2023 season featuring over 50 public events presented by its nearly 2,000 talented students, artistic staff, and faculty members. The new season marks the 30th Anniversary of the recently integrated New Jersey Youth Chorus as well as the 10th Anniversary of the Paterson Music Project, two of Wharton Arts’ visionary programs that continue to provide vital opportunities for their communities to come together in celebration of creativity and culture.

“We are so honored and humbled to see that Wharton Arts continues to thrive in the state of New Jersey through its diversity of program offerings,” said Peter H. Gistelinck, Executive Director at Wharton Arts. “As we continue to implement our ambitious five-year strategic plan, we are focusing more than ever on the mission and vision of our organization which encompasses and embraces the accessibility and inclusivity of our programs.”

Said Artistic Director Helen H. Cha-Pyo, “Here at Wharton Arts, we continue to work hard to practice culturally-responsive teaching and to care for the holistic development of our students. I hope our strong commitment to teaching and performing works by women and underrepresented composers, as well as celebrating cultural diversity in our concert programming, will be evident throughout this season. I’m most excited about our increased partnerships with public and private schools, universities, and local community organizations in bringing musical enrichment to NJ residents of all ages.”

The New Jersey Youth Chorus (NJYC) founded and led by Trish Joyce, an auditioned choral ensemble program for students in grades 3–12, joined the family of programs at Wharton Arts on July 1, 2022. For over 30 years, outstanding NJYC performances have ranged from collaborations with the New Jersey Symphony, Ronan Tynan, the Chieftains, and the Celtic Tenors to performances at the White House, Super Bowl, and on the Today Show. In addition to public concerts beginning with a Winter Concert on January 22, 2023 at 4:00pm at Dolan Hall at Saint Elizabeth University in Morristown, NJYC will host a 30th Anniversary Weekend Celebration, May 19-21, 2023, as well as embark on a tour to Italy from June 27-July 6, 2023. This season also marks the inauguration of the Wharton Arts Annual Choral Composition Competition open to high school and college students. Guidelines available at WhartonArts.org.

The New Jersey Youth Symphony (NJYS) officially opens the symphonic season on Saturday, October 30 at 4:00pm at The Patriots Theater at the War Memorial for a dynamic concert featuring the NJYS Youth Symphony with special guests Brooke Jee-In Newmaster and Company, Samgomu Dancers. Enjoy a vibrant display of Korean arts and culture featuring traditional Korean dancing and drumming. Join the NJYS Youth Symphony under the baton of Helen H. Cha-Pyo for four signature concerts this season chronicling a variety of dance rhythms from across the globe in the Beyond Cultural Boundaries Series: A Confluence of Music, Dance, and Story. Tickets and event details for all NJYS concerts can be found at NJYS.org. The NJYS Youth Symphony will tour Italy, June 27-July 6, 2023, and the NJYS Jazz Orchestra will tour France in an Homage to Michel Legrand, July 10-17, 2023.

The Wharton Performing Arts School (PAS) will present Mary Poppins, JR. on Friday, November 18 and Saturday, November 19 at 7:00pm and Sunday, November 20 at 3:00pm in the Wharton Black Box Theater. Wharton Community Players, Berkeley Heights’ first ever community theater program for adults, will present It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play December 9-18. The Salon Series returns as an immersive experience where the audience is seated on stage with the performers on select Sunday afternoons, September-December. Tickets and more details can be found at WhartonArts.org. Building new partnerships and fostering existing relationships between the Wharton Performing Arts School and the communities it serves will be an important focal point of the new season, with an emphasis on intentional efforts to forge meaningful partnerships between its programs and community organizations.

The Paterson Music Project (PMP) will kick off its 10th Anniversary Celebration on October 1 at the Community Charter School of Paterson, with season events throughout the Silk City. PMP will host a Paterson City-Wide Festival on January 28, 2023 at 5:00pm at John. F. Kennedy High School and anniversary festivities will culminate in an Outdoor Playathon on June 3, 2023 at 11:00am in Paterson’s Pennington Park.

For ticket information and full 2022-23 season brochure, visit WhartonArts.org.

Wharton Arts’ mission is to offer accessible, high quality performing arts education that sparks personal growth and builds inclusive communities.

Wharton Arts’ vision is for a transformative performing arts education in an inclusive community to be accessible for everyone.

Wharton Arts is New Jersey’s largest independent non-profit community performing arts education center serving nearly 2,000 students through a range of classes and ensembles. The 15 ensembles of the New Jersey Youth Symphony, which serve over 500 students in grades 3–12 by audition, inspire young people to achieve musical excellence through high-level ensemble training and performance opportunities. The five ensembles of the New Jersey Youth Chorus, an auditioned choral ensemble program for students in grades 3–12, encourage a love and appreciation of choral music while nurturing personal growth and creative development. From Pathways classes for young children to Lifelong Learning programs for adults, the Wharton Performing Arts School offers both private and group classes for instruments and voice for all ages and all abilities and has a robust musical theater and drama program. Based in Paterson, New Jersey, the Paterson Music Project is an El Sistema-inspired program of Wharton Arts that uses music education as a vehicle for social action by empowering and inspiring young people to achieve their full potential through the community experience of ensemble learning and playing. With the belief in the positive and unifying influence of music and that performing arts education should be accessible to all people regardless of their ability to pay, Wharton Arts offers need-based scholarships. 

Wharton Arts is located in Berkeley Heights, New Providence, and Paterson, NJ and reaches students from 10 counties. All of Wharton Arts’ extraordinary teaching artists, faculty members, and conductors hold degrees in their teaching specialty and have been vetted and trained to enable our students to achieve their personal best.