Helen Cha-Pyo Conductor| Music Educator | Arts Leader Helen H. Cha-Pyo is currently in her sixth season as the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts. Under her leadership, Wharton Arts has flourished into an organization serving nearly 2,000 students from 13 New Jersey counties. She oversees four cornerstone […]
Joseph Joubert Joseph Joubert’s talents as a pianist, arranger, orchestrator, Broadway conductor, and music director have taken him around the world. Mr. Joubert was music supervisor and orchestrator for Classic Stage Company’s Carmen Jones starring Anika Noni Rose. His Broadway orchestration credits include The Color Purple 06-19, Juneteenth 2023 (ISA). indd 34 6/9/23 11:05 AM […]
Norm Lewis Norm Lewis was recently seen onstage starring in the national tour of the Tony Award-winning production of A Soldier’s Play and in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s West End Concert of “Love Never Dies.” Mr. Lewis last appeared on Broadway in the Fall of 2021, starring in Chicken and Biscuits at the Circle In The […]
New Jersey Youth Symphony Founded in 1979, the New Jersey Youth Symphony (NJYS) is a tiered orchestra program that offers ensemble education for students in grades 3–12 across New Jersey. NJYS has grown from one orchestra of 65 students to more than 500 students in 15 different orchestras and ensembles, including the internationally recognized Youth […]
Andrew Young Andrew J. Young has earned worldwide recognition as a pioneer in and champion of civil and human rights. Young’s lifelong dedication to service is illustrated by his extensive leadership experience of over sixty-five years, serving as a member of Congress, African American U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Mayor of Atlanta, and ordained […]
Reverend Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr. Reverend Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr. is the recipient of fourteen honorary degrees, including D.D. degrees from Princeton University, Trinity College, Colgate University, and University of Richmond. In 1996 Newsweek recognized Forbes as one of the twelve “most effective preachers” in the English-speaking world. Union Theological Seminary named Forbes […]
With a career that has spanned 31 Broadway seasons, LaChanze consistently brings women of complexity and triumph into the cultural lexicon. She won a Tony Award for her performance as Celie in The Color Purple, originated the role of Ti Moune in Once on This Island (Tony nomination), and upheld her commitment to artistic excellence […]
Rev. Dr. Iva E. Carruthers is General Secretary of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, Inc. (SDPC), an interdenominational organization within the African American faith tradition focused on justice and equity issues. SDPC is both a 501c3 and United Nations Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). As founding CEO and trustee of SDPC, she has steered the organization as […]
Rev. Lawson has been an influential leader and teacher of nonviolence for more than a half-century. He helped to launch the Nashville sit-in campaign in 1960, which successfully desegregated the Woolworth’s lunch counter, and inspired a new generation of civil rights leaders throughout the South. He was also a leader of the Memphis Sanitation Workers […]
Gay McDougall has spent her career working on issues of race, gender, and economic justice in the U.S. and in the global context, seeking to change the dynamics of power in order to improve the lives of ordinary people from Mississippi to Durban. She has played a leadership role in the fight against racism in […]