(BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ) -- Wharton Arts, a leading provider of community music and creative youth development in New Jersey, has launched its 2026–27 Fall/Winter season under the leadership of new President & CEO Carol Chickering Burden.
The new season brings together the organization's four core programs, the New Jersey Youth Chorus, New Jersey Youth Symphony, Paterson Music Project, and Performing Arts School, along with a broad schedule of concerts, community performances, educational programs, and opportunities for musicians of all ages.
"I am delighted to join Wharton Arts and to be a part of raising the curtain on this exciting season," said Carol Chickering Burden, President & CEO of Wharton Arts. "Music education is about so much more than the knowledge our students gain. It is about the people they are becoming. Making music together cultivates empathy, creative solutions, discipline, collaboration, and, of course, beauty. We are all excited to share the extraordinary work of our students, faculty, guest artists, and ensembles with communities throughout New Jersey."
Among the highlights of the 2026–27 season:
New Jersey Youth Chorus celebrates 35 years. The New Jersey Youth Chorus marks its 35th anniversary with special events throughout the season, including opportunities to reconnect with alumni, celebrate its young musicians, and honor founder Trish Joyce as she prepares for retirement. The season will culminate in May 2027 with special concerts celebrating Joyce's legacy and the future of NJYC.
Free concerts bring music to Rahway and beyond. Through support from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority's A.R.T. – Phase II Grant Program, Wharton Arts will present a series of free performances at the Union County Performing Arts Center in Rahway. The series includes America250: Harmony Across Cultures on October 25, featuring the NJYS Youth Symphony, Inner City Dance Ensemble, and guest artists representing Korean traditional music, tabla, and the EC Llanera harp; an America250 concert featuring the NJYS Youth Orchestra and the Plainfield Symphony Orchestra; a Gospel Music Festival on December 12; Two Nutcrackers on December 13; and Season of Joy later that evening. Free tickets must be reserved through UCPAC at ucpac.org.
The Rahway initiative also includes an education concert on October 28, when nearly 1,000 Union County students will join the New Jersey Youth Symphony for a special Harmony Across Cultures program.
Performances and programs connect communities across New Jersey. The season includes NJYS community performances, chamber music, jazz, open rehearsals, alumni events, and programs in Paterson through the Paterson Music Project. Performing Arts School offerings include a free faculty recital in Plainfield, Fall Fest and Suzuki Halloween Playdown in Berkeley Heights, a Creative Aging for Everyone Choir concert, and the Wharton Players' production of Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical JR.
Across its programs, Wharton Arts continues its mission of making high-quality performing arts education and experiences accessible to students, families, and communities.
The complete 2026–27 Fall/Winter season brochure is available 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 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.
Thursday, October 08, 2026
@ 7:00pm
Mayo Performing Arts Center
Morristown, NJ
There are multiple performances including:
Thursday, October 08, 2026
@ 7:30pm
McCarter Theatre Center (Matthews Theatre)
Princeton, NJ
Thursday, October 08, 2026
@ 7:30pm
State Theatre New Jersey
New Brunswick, NJ
Thursday, October 08, 2026
@ 6:00pm
Hamilton Stage at Union County Performing Arts Center (UCPAC)
Rahway, NJ
There are multiple performances including:
Thursday, October 08, 2026
@ 8:00pm
Oakes Center
Summit, NJ
