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 Symphony. NJYS ensembles have performed at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Carnegie Hall, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. NJYS has received numerous awards for its adventurous programming from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) and has completed six European tours. Entering its 43rd season, NJYS continues to achieve musical excellence through intensive instruction and high-level performance. NJYS remains committed to programming works by diverse composers and regularly features 20th-century African American and women composers, such as Duke Ellington, George Walker, Julia Perry, Florence Price, Jessie Montgomery, and Valerie Coleman. NJYS is a program of the Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts, New Jersey’s largest nonprofit performing arts education organization serving more than 1,500 student