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On Saturday, June 20, nearly a dozen young musicians, many of whom are New Jersey Youth Symphony (NJYS) students and alumni, participated in a virtual fundraising concert organized by NJYS cellist Noelia Carrasco in response to the Black Lives Matter civil rights movement. The event, which took place virtually via Zoom, exceeded its fundraising goal, raising $676 to be donated to the Black Lives Matter Organization. Here is what Noelia had to say about the event in her own words:

My name is Noelia Carrasco. I live in Rockaway, NJ, and attend Morris Knolls High School. I have been playing the cello for nine years and am a member of the NJYS Youth Symphony, participate in the chamber music program at the New York Youth Symphony, and volunteer with the Paterson Music Project.

Upon hearing about the death of George Floyd, I joined millions around the world who took this as the final straw in what has equated to years of oppression and injustice for the Black community. Racism, prejudice, and inequality are so prevalent in our society, yet can be so easily swept under the rug, dismissed to be too sensitive of a topic to be discussed. I was brimming with frustration and anger that the country I live in could allow such heinous crimes to continually occur. I knew I had to do something to take action.

At first, it was discouraging to be limited to signing petitions, writing emails, making phone calls, and spreading awareness about the Black Lives Matter movement in a few, limited ways. But then I realized that I could use my passion for music in order to make a statement: that with music we can unify our communities and work towards something greater than ourselves. Although we cannot change the world with one concert, we can contribute to this process of change by allowing music to remind us of humanity, compassion, and empathy.

For the concert’s repertoire, I asked that all of the performers select a piece that they were really passionate about—something they could easily connect with emotionally. I wanted to remind the audience during this concert that even during this unprecedented era, we must not let hatred and animosity cloud our vision. We must look forward with the guidance of love and peace.

The performers and repertoire for the concert:

Pianist Alexandria Stevenson, a rising senior at Morris Knolls High School, performed Aufenthalt by Franz Schubert.

Violinist Samuel Lederman, a rising junior at Newark Academy, performed Liebesleid by Fritz Kreisler.

Cellist Sean Lee, rising sophomore at Emory University and NJYS Youth Symphony alumnus, performed Prelude from “The Gadfly” by Dmitri Shostakovich.

Cellist Leo Capurso, rising senior at Walnut Hill School for the Arts, performed the Allemande from Suite No. 2 in D minor for Unaccompanied Violoncello by J.S. Bach.

Pianist Linda Ji, rising senior at Morris Knolls High School, performed Argentinian Danze No. 2 by Alberto Ginastera.

Cellist Noelia Carrasco, rising senior at Morris Knolls High School, performed Salut d’Amour by Edward Elgar.

Violinist Priscilla Tam, rising senior at Parsipanny Hills High School, performed the Adagio from Sonata No. 1 in G Minor by J.S. Bach.

Violist Dora Bonyai, rising senior at New York University, performed Viola Sonata No. 1: Sehr Langsam by Paul Hindemith.

Cellist Noel Cho, rising freshman at Brandeis University, performed the Allemande from Suite No. 4 for Unaccompanied Violoncello by J.S. Bach.

Violinist Ryan Nguyen, rising freshman at Stanford University and NJYS Youth Symphony alumnus, performed Cantabile in D Minor by Niccolo Paganini.

Reaching new heights with Andrew Nitkin, Director of Office Administration

Wharton Arts has a new Director of Office Administration: Andrew Nitkin took on the newly created role this season in addition to retaining his duties as Director of Education. A seasoned arts administrator, Nitkin has worked at Wharton Arts as both a faculty and staff member since September 2005.

Q: How has your job changed as Director of Office Administration?
A: I am now overseeing all office administrative functions of Wharton Arts as opposed to only the Performing Arts School. My position has changed constantly over the years spanning across all programs of the organization.

Q: What are some of the titles you’ve held through the years here at Wharton Arts?
A: Registrar, Online Registration and Information Manager, Director of Admissions, Director of Student Services, Director of Education and Office Administration, Interim Executive Director

Q: Whew! That’s quite a list. And in addition to those functions, you teach guitar at the Performing Arts School as well?
A: Yes. I currently teach a half dozen students, two days a week.

Q: What are some things you hope to accomplish in your new role?
A: I think it is important now more than ever to explore ways of reaching new communities with our mission of providing the highest quality performing arts education to a wide range of students.

To that end, I am very interested in expanding our contract services to other parts of the state, both for in-school and after school programs. I would also like to see new programs servicing our senior and adult populations at the Performing Arts School. We have a thriving adult division with nearly two dozen lifelong learners taking lessons in flute, cello, piano, saxophone, guitar, voice, and chamber music, but we need constantly to ask, “Are we reaching everyone we could?”

Our CAFÉ Program, made possible in part by a HEART (History, Education, Arts Reaching Thousands) Grant from the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders, has allowed us to provide a much-needed creative outlet for those ages 55+. In its second year, we were able to offer the residents of Brighton Gardens of Mountainside 8 weeks of classes followed by a holiday performance for friends and family at their weekly social hour in December.

And finally, working with the newly-minted Berkeley Heights YMCA across the street will help facilitate our vision as well.

Andrew Nitkin is currently the Director of Education and Office Administration at the Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts and has been on staff since 2005. He is also a faculty member teaching guitar and was the Founder/Director of the American Institute of Guitar in New York City for three decades previously before joining WIPA.

This February, we’re celebrating Black History Month by spotlighting some of our favorite artists, and encourage our audience to take a moment to explore and listen to the countless other remarkable musicians who have contributed and shaped the world of music, and continue to do so.

Born in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1887, Florence Price was the first African American woman to have her music performed by a major symphony orchestra. Her First Symphony won a composing prize that caught the attention of Chicago Symphony Orchestra conductor Frederick Stock, after which he led a well-received premiere of the piece. Only recently, 30 boxes of manuscripts and papers were discovered in her abandoned summer home containing an estimated 200 pieces of music. This recent discovery will hopefully give way in time to a renaissance of this pioneering composer’s works.

Recently performed: The NJYS Youth Symphony performed Price’s Symphony No. 3 in c minor at Princeton University on January 26, 2020.

Marian Anderson (1897–1993) was an American singer of classical music and spirituals. Deemed one of the finest contraltos of her time, she became the first African American to perform with the New York Metropolitan Opera in 1955. Eleanor Roosevelt invited Anderson to perform at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday in 1939 in front of a crowd of more than 75,000, offering up a riveting performance that was broadcast live for millions of radio listeners.

What to watch: Marian Anderson: The Lincoln Memorial Concert, a 1939 documentary film chronicling the concert performance by African American opera singer Marian Anderson

With the emergence of jazz in the early-20^th century and inspired by ragtime performers, Duke Ellington (1899-1974) brought American jazz to world audiences for five decades. Recognized as a leading figure in jazz, Charles Ives is perhaps his only rival for the title of the greatest American composer.

On our playlist on repeat: It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)

Musical legend Nat King Cole (1919-1965) started out as a pianist but is best known for his smooth and well-articulated baritone voice. He made television history in 1956 when he became the first African American performer to host a variety TV series. The Nat King Cole Show featured many of the leading performers of the day, including Count Basie, Peggy Lee, Sammy Davis Jr. and Tony Bennett.

Our favorite hit: Unforgettable

Following soon after, Ray Charles (1930-2004), helped create soul music, a fusion of blues, R&B, and gospel styles. Soul music became the sound of the 1950s. Not only one of the most original popular artists of that time, he was one of the most important American musicians of any style to have emerged in the postwar era. His honors include inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Rhythm & Blues Foundation, the Jazz Hall of Fame, and as a recipient of both Kennedy Center Honors and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Check it out: Oscar-winning biopic Ray featuring Jamie Foxx

Soul music began to merge with pop and by 1959, Berry Gordy had founded Motown Records. The Motown soul-pop sound could be heard in featured talent Diana Ross and the Supremes. The Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown’s acts and are to date America’s most successful vocal group, with 12 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100.

The Supremes’ first No. 1 hit: Where Did Our Love Go

Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin (1942-2018) signed with the label Atlantic in 1967 and her subsequent recordings for the label were the most powerful recordings by a female soul singer in the genre’s history. In 1987 she became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 1990 she won the Grammy’s Living Legends Award.

What to listen to: Literally anything by Aretha Franklin!

The 1970s and early 1980s introduced the genre of disco, and the fusion of pop music and dance-soul, which influenced musical icon Prince (1958-2016) heavily. He achieved worldwide fame with ‘1999’ and ‘Purple Rain,’ the latter album also serving as the soundtrack for the popular film of the same name that garnered an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score. Prince was not only lauded by Billboard.com as the greatest Super Bowl performer ever, but he was also featured in TIME magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” and earned a Lifetime Achievement Award from the BET Awards. He was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2010.

Not to miss: Prince’s Super Bowl XLI (2007) performance of Purple Rain in the rain

Angel Blue (born 1984) is an American operatic soprano and classical crossover artist. Her voice has been hailed for its shining, agile upper register and “smoky” middle register, and as a regular BBC Proms presenter, she is equally at home on the concert or operatic stage. Angel Blue is quickly establishing herself as one of the best singers in her generation, having performed in over 35 countries in the last 6 years.

See her now: The Metropolitan Opera’s acclaimed new production of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess