(BASKING RIDGE, NJ) -- The New Jersey Youth Chorus (NJYC), a program of Wharton Arts, invites the community to its Winter Concert on Sunday, February 1, 2026 at 4:00pm at The Pingry School in Basking Ridge. Now in its 34th season, NJYC continues its tradition of musical excellence with a program that brings together young singers in a richly expressive and globally inspired performance.
The concert features music drawn from a wide range of cultural traditions and contemporary choral voices, moving from joyful folk-inspired works to deeply reflective and lyrical selections. Performed by NJYC's five ensembles—Primo Coro, Cor Amici, Sola Voce, Camerata, and Coriste—the program explores themes of peace, unity, resilience, and hope, offering audiences both moments of celebration and quiet introspection.
Several selections reflect NJYC's national presence in the choral field, including repertoire that will be featured at the upcoming American Choral Directors Association Eastern Division Conference in Providence, Rhode Island. The program highlights music by acclaimed composers such as Pärt Uusberg, Jake Runestad, Jukka Linkola, Craig Hella Johnson, Tracy Wong, and Elaine Hagenberg, underscoring NJYC's commitment to artistic excellence and meaningful musical storytelling.
"As we celebrate our 34th season, this Winter Concert brings together music that ranges from joyful folk traditions to deeply reflective works," said NJYC Founder and Director Trish Joyce. "Through music from many cultures and styles, our singers explore themes of connection, peace, and shared humanity. It is far more than singing; we nurture, we encourage, and we hope to inspire everyone who shares in this music with us."
Tickets are $20 adults; $15 students and seniors and available for purchase online. The Pingry School is located at 131 Martinsville Road in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.
The New Jersey Youth Chorus, a program of Wharton Arts, provides exceptional choral training and performance opportunities for young singers from across northern and central New Jersey, fostering musical growth, confidence, and community through the choral arts.
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.
