(BERKELEY HEIGHTS) -- Wharton Arts has announced that Helen H. Cha-Pyo will step down from her role as Artistic Director at the conclusion of the 2025–2026 season, completing a transformative eight-year tenure during which she helped establish Wharton Arts as a nationally recognized leader in performing arts education. She will continue to serve as Music Director and Conductor of the New Jersey Youth Symphony (NJYS), a program of Wharton Arts.
Although stepping down from her administrative leadership role, Cha-Pyo will continue to lead the New Jersey Youth Symphony as Music Director and Conductor, focusing on the continued excellence and growth of one of the nation's premier youth orchestra programs.
"It is one of the greatest honors of my career to serve the students, families, faculty, staff, teaching artists, and supporters of Wharton Arts," said Cha-Pyo. "I am deeply grateful for all we have accomplished together and look forward to continuing my work with the extraordinary young musicians of the New Jersey Youth Symphony."
"Helen has been a force of energy and inspiration during her time thus far with Wharton Arts," said Board of Trustees Co-Chair Bob Hamburger. "As the organization grows and positions itself for the future, we are thrilled that she will continue to lead the New Jersey Youth Symphony program."
During her tenure as Artistic Director, Cha-Pyo has helped shape Wharton Arts into New Jersey's largest nonprofit performing arts education organization, now serving nearly 2,000 students annually across 12 counties. She unified the organization's four core programs—the New Jersey Youth Symphony, New Jersey Youth Chorus, Paterson Music Project, and Performing Arts School—under a shared mission and cohesive artistic vision. She championed the integration of the New Jersey Youth Chorus into Wharton Arts in 2022, expanding the organization's reach while strengthening collaboration and creating new opportunities for young artists across disciplines.
Cha-Pyo significantly expanded artistic opportunities throughout the organization, growing engagement with more than 100 artistic instructors, cultivating regional arts partnerships, strengthening relationships with colleges and universities to create educational and career pathways for students, expanding jazz education at both NJYS and the Paterson Music Project, and broadening lifelong learning opportunities through the Performing Arts School with community theater, choir, ensembles, and group classes for adults and seniors.
A passionate advocate for equity, diversity, inclusion, belonging, and access, Cha-Pyo championed innovative programming that elevated underrepresented voices and fostered meaningful community engagement, further establishing Wharton Arts as a leader in arts education, artistic innovation, and community impact.
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.
