(PATERSON, NJ) -- The Paterson Music Project (PMP), a program of Wharton Arts, will host the 2025 All-City Day of Jazz on Saturday, April 26, 2025 at the John F. Kennedy High School in Paterson. The event culminates in a concert at 4:00pm. that is free and open to the public. Nearly 150 students and nine ensembles will participate in the video game-themed Day of Jazz from PMP's School 6, New Roberto Clemente, and School 16 sites, as well as Rosa Parks Performing Arts High School and School 24.

Said PMP Director Shanna Lin, "We are thrilled to host an all-city event for the second time in Paterson! Through our 11-year partnership with the Paterson Public Schools, PMP has grown from 30 students in one school to 350 students from over 20 schools. The All-City Day of Jazz is a wonderful example of how this partnership, along with PPS's dedication to the performing arts, has created opportunities for Paterson students to make music as a community in exciting and unique ways."

“Get ready for a citywide celebration of music at the All-City Day of Jazz in Paterson! Student musicians from schools across the city will come together for a full day of rehearsing, performing, and sharing their talent with the community,” said Sam Tobias, PMP Jazz Program Coordinator. “The event will showcase a range of jazz styles and highlight the creativity of our young performers. To close out the day, Paterson's All-City Band will take the stage for a unique performance of the Mario Kart soundtrack—played live and synced in real time to actual races happening on stage, with audience members competing in each round. Don't miss this exciting event!”

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.