(MORRISTOWN, NJ) -- The New Jersey Youth Chorus (NJYC), a program of Wharton Arts, will present Men That Matter on February 23, 2025 at Morristown United Methodist Church located at 50 South Park Place in Morristown. The event is free. Showtime is 5:00pm.

Donations can be made to support the Cornerstone Family Programs and Morristown Neighborhood House. Their “Boyz to Men” program, designed for middle school boys, provides a safe place for members to grow and support one another and encourages making healthy choices that can lead to positive outcomes.

NJYC’s Coro Vivo and Camerata ensembles will be joined by Westrick Music Academy’s Princeton Boychoir and the Choir Next Door, a versatile vocal quartet that provides accessible performances and engaging educational workshops to musical communities throughout the US.

Said NJYC Coro Vivo and Camerata Director Dan Malloy, “We are excited for the opportunity to collaborate with both the Princeton Boychoir and the vocal quartet, Choir Next Door. The program will feature sets of music from each of the six choirs in attendance, as well as a number of combined songs. Songs to be performed include Umoja Tunaimba (United We Sing) by Victor C. Johnson, The Impossible Dream from Man of La Mancha, Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening by Vera Kistler, and Stand Tall, O Man! by Ken Berg. The concert will culminate with the combined choirs singing Troy Robertson's In Meeting We Are Blessed, at which point we will be joined in song by our invited fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other important figures in our lives.”

“At this concert, we celebrate Men That Matter—those who lift us up, challenge us to be better, and walk beside us through life’s journey,” said NJYC Founder and Director Trish Joyce. “This music serves as both gratitude and inspiration; a reminder of the impact we have on one another and the responsibility we all share in shaping the future.”

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.