(RAHWAY, NJ) -- The New Jersey Youth Symphony returns to the Union County Performing Arts Center in Rahway on Sunday, December 11 at 4:00pm to celebrate music, dance, and the holiday season with Danzon, Tango and Bugler’s Holiday! Don't miss this uplifting show that explores dance rhythms across the world and shares the stories behind the music that are universal to the human experience.

Tickets start at $10 and are available for purchase online.

The NJYS Youth Symphony, led by Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Helen H. Cha-Pyo, will share the stage with special guests Francis Goya, Romantic guitarist and multi-platinum artist; soprano saxophonist Tim Egan; and tango dancers Carolina Jaurena and Juan Alessandrini. Works by Astor Piazzola, Arturo Marquez, Francis Goya, and Leroy Anderson will be featured in this community celebration for all ages.

Said Jaurena and Alessandrini, “We are excited to be part of this concert and collaborate with the New Jersey Youth Symphony. We are certain it will be a unique experience and we look forward to sharing our love and passion for tango with the audience.“

“This is my first time performing with the New Jersey Youth Symphony, although several of my friends were members of NJYS in high school,” said Egan. “As a saxophonist, I was always jealous that they got to play in orchestra! I have been a Teaching Artist at the Paterson Music Project since 2021 and this year I had the opportunity to coach the NJYS Clarinet Trio. I look forward to many more years of collaboration with this life-changing performing arts education organization."

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 5 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. 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. Based in Paterson, 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. From Pathways classes for young children to Lifelong Learning programs for adults, the Wharton Performing Arts School has a robust musical theater and drama program and offers both private and group classes for instruments and voice for all ages and all abilities. 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 12 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.