BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ — Wharton Arts, a nonprofit community performing arts education organization, has announced its 2022-2023 season, featuring more than 50 public events presented by its nearly 2,000 students, artistic staff and faculty members. The new season marks the 30th anniversary of the New Jersey Youth Chorus, as well as the 10th anniversary of the Paterson Music Project, two of Wharton Arts’ programs that continue to provide vital opportunities for 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 N.J. residents of all ages.”
The New Jersey Youth Chorus, founded and led by Trish Joyce, an auditioned choral ensemble program for students in grades three to 12, joined the family of programs at Wharton Arts on July 1. For more than 30 years, NJYC performances have included collaborations with the New Jersey Symphony, Ronan Tynan, the Chieftains and the Celtic Tenors, and performances at the White House, the Super Bowl and on the “Today” show. In addition to public concerts, beginning with a winter concert on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023, at 4 p.m., 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, 2023, to July 6, 2023. This season also marks the inauguration of the Wharton Arts Choral Composition Competition, open to high school and college students. Guidelines are available at whartonarts.org.
The New Jersey Youth Symphony officially opens its season on Saturday, Oct. 30, at 4 p.m., at the Patriots Theater at the War Memorial, 1 Memorial Drive in Trenton, with a concert featuring the youth symphony with guests Brooke Jee-In Newmaster and Company performing traditional Korean samgomu dancing and drumming.
The youth symphony, under the baton of Cha-Pyo, will present four signature concerts this season showcasing 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 youth symphony will also tour Italy June 27, 2023, to 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 will present “Mary Poppins Jr.” on Friday, Nov. 18, and Saturday, Nov. 19, at 7 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 20, at 3 p.m., in the Wharton Black Box Theater.
Wharton Community Players, a community theater program for adults, will present “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” Dec. 9-18.
The Salon Series, for which the audience is seated onstage with the performers, returns on select Sunday afternoons, September through December.
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.
The Paterson Music Project will kick off its 10th anniversary celebration on Saturday, Oct. 1, at the Community Charter School of Paterson, with events throughout the Silk City. PMP will host a Paterson City-Wide Festival on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023, at 5 p.m., at John. F. Kennedy Memorial High School. PMP anniversary festivities will culminate in an “Outdoor Playathon” on Saturday, June 3, 2023, at 11 a.m. in Paterson’s Pennington Park.
For ticket information and full 2022-23 season brochure, visit whartonarts.org.
Photo Courtesy of Alice Hamlet