(BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ) -- Ring in the winter solstice with the Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts and enjoy classical, pops, and holiday favorites with a weekend of virtual events December 18-20. Free online streaming for the Holiday Cabaret for the Arts, Messengers of Hope Virtual Festival, and Salon Series is available at WhartonArts.tv. In the absence of live event experiences, audience members are invited to watch from the comfort of home and enjoy the gift of music from Wharton’s talented young artists.  

Said Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Helen H. Cha-Pyo, “Despite the global pandemic, young musicians of Wharton Arts never stopped making music.  At our Virtual Winter Celebration, you will see and hear performances from over 450 young people, sharing messages of hope through their gifts of music.”

“The Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts is continuing to make every effort in bringing the music from our students to your homes during these challenging times,” said Peter H. Gistelinck, Executive Director. “We are very appreciative and grateful for all of your support during this month of giving. Please do consider us for a donation by visiting WhartonArtsDonate.org so that we can continue the mission and vision of our educational programs.”

Wharton Arts Winter Celebration

All events take place at 7:00 p.m. EST on WhartonArts.tv unless otherwise indicated.

Friday, December 18 @ 6:00 p.m. EST on Facebook Live! Holiday Cabaret for the Arts: The Visual Arts Center of New Jersey will join Performing Arts School students for an evening of art and pops favorites followed by a virtual holiday sing along

Saturday, December 19 Messengers of Hope Virtual Festival: Young musicians of the New Jersey Youth Symphony present a virtual compilation of works featuring nearly two dozen ensembles and orchestras

Sunday, December 20 Salon Series: Violinist Mikhail Kuchuk presents works for solo violin by J.S. Bach, Prokofiev, and Ysaÿe 

Wharton is New Jersey’s largest independent non-profit community performing arts education center serving over 1,200 students through a range of classes and ensembles including the 15 ensembles of the New Jersey Youth Symphony, which serve 500 students in grades 3 – 12 by audition. Beginning with Out of the Box Music and Pathways classes for young children, Wharton offers private lessons, group classes, and ensembles for all ages and all abilities at the Performing Arts School. With the belief in the positive and unifying influence of music and the performing arts and that arts education should be accessible to all people regardless of their ability to pay, Wharton teaches all instruments and voice and has a robust musical theater program. Based in Paterson, New Jersey, the Paterson Music Project is an El Sistema-inspired program of the Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts that uses music as a vehicle for social change by empowering and inspiring children through the community experience of ensemble learning and playing.

Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts is located in Berkeley Heights, New Providence and Paterson, NJ and reaches students from 10 counties. All of Wharton’s extraordinary 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.