(BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ) -- Wharton Arts proudly announces its 2025–26 season, Arise!, an inspiring lineup of performances, programs, and community events designed to uplift, connect, and celebrate through the transformative power of the arts.
Guided by the theme Arise!—Artistry, Representation, Inspiration, Self-Expression, and Empathy—the season dares audiences to dream boldly, listen deeply, and come together with purpose. From dynamic orchestral concerts and moving choral performances to innovative theater, chamber music, and community gatherings, Wharton Arts invites audiences of all ages to be part of a year of creativity and connection.
"Arise! is more than a theme—it's an invitation to action," said Helen H. Cha-Pyo, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the New Jersey Youth Symphony. "In a world yearning for light, we turn to the arts to uplift voices, spark imagination, and celebrate the brilliance of our students, faculty, and teaching artists."
The 2025–26 season offers something for everyone: symphonic masterworks, choral traditions, innovative collaborations, joyful theater, and community-driven events that highlight the transformative role of the performing arts in New Jersey and beyond.
"Wharton Arts thrives on building connections—between students, families, and our wider community," said Executive Director Gina Caruso. "This season reflects our commitment to creating spaces where artistry and community flourish side by side."
Season highlights include:
* Signature Concerts with the New Jersey Youth Symphony: Lunar Rising: A Symphony in Light and Sound (October 18, 2025) featuring the Museum of the Moon installation, and Galaxies of Joy: The Planets in Concert (December 13, 2025), a celestial celebration with NASA imagery.
* Choral Performances by the New Jersey Youth Chorus, including The Light We Give (December 5, 2025) and the Winter Concert (February 1, 2026), plus a featured performance at the American Choral Directors Association Eastern Division Conference.
* Wharton Players' Theater Production: Beetlejuice JR. (December 5–7, 2025), bringing the "ghost-with-the-most" to the Wharton Black Box Theater.
* Community and Educational Events: The Paterson Music Project's Winter Concert (January 31, 2026), Wharton Performing Arts School's Holiday Cabaret benefit (December 12, 2025) celebrating 40 years of community impact, and engaging educational concerts like the free Moon Festival concert for schools (October 15, 2025).
* Chamber Music and Jazz: A vibrant series of concerts including Love Notes (February 11, 2026) and performances by NJYS jazz, wind, and string ensembles.
* Festivals and Family Events: The 2025 New Jersey Flute Fair (October 11, 2025), the PAS Fall Festival & Suzuki Halloween Playdown (October 24, 2025), and the beloved NJYS Playathon fundraiser.
Wharton Arts, in partnership with the Sieminski Theater at Fellowship Village, presents Sound Beyond Sight—a Black History Month celebration of resilience, artistry, and inclusion. The concert features internationally acclaimed pianist Matthew Whitaker in Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, alongside the New Jersey premiere of Quinn Mason's Electric Beauty.
For tickets and a full season calendar, visit 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, New Jersey 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.
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