Q: How many years have you been involved in the organization as a parent?
A: I’ve been bringing my children to Wharton Arts programs for about ten years. They’ve participated in early childhood music and the New Jersey Youth Symphony. My fourteen year-old daughter currently plays viola in Sinfonia.
Q: Why did you initially enroll your children in the program?
A: The arts have always been an important part of my life and I wanted to share that with my family.
Q: All 3 of your children have been involved in Wharton Arts in one way or another from early childhood through graduation. Why do you think your son stuck with it all the way through high school? What did Wharton Arts offer him?
A: My eldest son who is now in college started with WA when he was in middle school. He played trombone at Orchestral Camp and then played in practically every ensemble of NJYS, ultimately making it to the most selective, the Youth Symphony. NJYS was very motivating for him. He decided at some point that he wanted to get better and he devoted more and more time to practicing and dedicated himself to advancing further and further. NJYS was also a great social scene for him. He met some of his best friends through NJYS. Now he is in college and plays trombone in university ensembles. Playing music and particularly orchestral music is a regular part of his everyday life. He has stayed connected with his NJYS friends and has already participated in an alumni event.
Q: What impact has a music education had on all of your children?
A: Music education has enriched the lived of my children and my family. It has helped my children learn how practice impacts progress and performance and has helped them develop confidence in learning and achievement that I believe transfers to other areas in education and life. As a family we also all have deepened our interest and pleasure in listening to music of all sorts.
Q: What are some of your best memories of your oldest son’s participation in the program–now that he’s in college.
A: By far the greatest experience for me was accompanying him on the Youth Symphony’s Italy tour last summer. It was a pleasure to get to know some of the other students and families and I really enjoyed seeing Helen Cha-Pyo in action. She is a real pro and also so nurturing and inspiring. The kids are talented to begin with but to see them perform in historic venues for enthusiastic audiences was a thrill.
Q: Wharton Arts is a great way for children and young adults to connect and build community. Can you share some ways in which you’ve seen this?
A: This has been our experience. I personally made new friends through NJYS and my children have done the same. When you think about it, it’s not surprising. We all share an interest in music and the arts and are making it a priority in our lives. Starting from that place of commonality, it’s a great place to connect.
Q: Why did you decide to join our Board?
A: I think the Italy experience made me realize how much my family has benefited from Wharton Arts programs and inspired me to contribute. I believe with my own arts background and my experience as a television producer and filmmaker, I can add value to the Board and help shape Wharton Arts’ institutional storytelling, which I hope will reach more people.
Q: What do you hope to see for the future of Wharton Arts?
A: I hope Wharton Arts is able to expand and offer more programming to more people of all ages. I am particularly interested in expanding opportunities for our students as they graduate high school and remain interested in the arts and being connected with their Wharton Arts family.
Q: As a Board member, what expertise have you shared and plan to share?
A: I am a filmmaker and have already donated my services in producing two films for this year’s Wharton Arts gala.
Lara Stolman is an award-winning director, producer, and writer of film and television. Her work has appeared in theaters, on Netflix, PBS, NBC, MSNBC, AMC, VH-1, and The New York Times’ website.
For over a decade she produced news and documentaries for NBC News and other broadcasters. Her film “Portraits of Survival,” about coming to terms with the tragedy of 9/11 through art, screened at the Hamptons International Film Festival and won a Cine Golden Eagle Award.
In 2016, Lara produced and directed “Swim Team,” an independent feature documentary film chronicling the rise of a competitive swim team made up of diverse teenagers on the autism spectrum. “Swim Team” was funded in part through grants from New York Women in Film and Television, the Aetna Foundation, Easterseals and the Karma Foundation. “Swim Team” screened at over 50 film festivals and won 14 awards. It premiered theatrically at New York’s IFC Center, made its broadcast debut on PBS’ POV and streamed on Netflix. “Swim Team” is currently being distributed digitally worldwide and continues to screen via a grassroots campaign that has brought it to non-profits, schools and other local organizations in hundreds of communities.
Lara has written for HuffPost, Entrepreneur and others and she appears as a panelist, keynote speaker, and guest teacher on diversity and inclusion, independent filmmaking, and film distribution. Her speaking and teaching engagements have included: NYU, Columbia University, Comcast, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She is part of the US State Department’s film diplomacy program, American Film Showcase, and has traveled as a Film Envoy to Albania, Ecuador, Ethiopia, and Kazakhstan and provided film and educational programming to American embassies around the world. She has a B.A. from Columbia College of Columbia University and a J.D. from Cardozo Law.