(BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ) -- The Wharton Performing Arts School (PAS) is excited to announce the launch of its 2025-26 season, featuring an expanded slate of classes designed specifically for adult learners. From group voice and movement classes to the Adult Harp Circle, CAFÉ Choir, and theater and ensemble performance opportunities, Wharton Arts invites adults of all experience levels to rediscover their passion—or discover a new one—through the power of the arts.
Rooted in the belief that learning never ends, Wharton Arts champions the value of lifelong learning as a path to personal enrichment, community connection, and creative growth. Whether picking up an instrument for the first time, returning to a childhood hobby, or joining a like-minded group of music and theater enthusiasts, adult students benefit from a welcoming environment that fosters joy, curiosity, and self-expression.
“Our adult programs are about more than just skills—they’re about connection, confidence, and personal fulfillment,” said PAS Director Deb Joyal. “At the Wharton Performing Arts School, we believe that the arts belong to everyone, at every stage of life.”
Fall classes at PAS include a robust offering of educational opportunities for children and teens, including Pathways to Piano, musical theater, acting, and more. These programs help young artists build confidence, discipline, and creativity in a nurturing and engaging environment, guided by faculty dedicated to student growth and artistic exploration.
The PAS 2025-26 season begins on Monday, September 8. Classes and private lessons are held at 60 Locust Avenue in Berkeley Heights, directly across from the Berkeley Heights YMCA. Flexible lesson scheduling, small group formats, and expert instructors ensure a supportive and inspiring experience for every student. Registration for group classes and private lessons is now open. Learn more and enroll at WhartonArts.org.
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.
