Wharton Music Center Students Receive Award For Excellence from Royal Conservatory Music Development Program

Wharton Music Center students Samuel DeMizio, Marguerite Kay, and Elizabeth Krska will be awarded the state award for Excellence in New Jersey by the Royal Conservatory Music Development Program. The students are being recognized for their exemplary assessment results during the 2012-2013 academic year. The State Certificate of Excellence Award recognizes those students who have obtained the highest marks for practical assessments in each instrument category, Level 1 through the Associate Diploma level, each academic year, September 1 to August 31, by state. Students will receive the award during a performance and awards ceremony at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall on March 16, 2014. Each of the three Wharton Music Center students will perform at Zankel Hall.

Elizabeth Krska, age 10, is receiving the state award for her Level 2 Piano Assessment, which was ranked First Class Honors with Distinction. Ms. Krska, student of Wharton Music Center faculty member Kristine Peters, has been studying piano for two years. Samuel DeMizio, age 10, is receiving the state award for his Level 2 Guitar Assessment, which was ranked First Class Honors. Mr. DeMizio, student of Wharton Music Center faculty member and Admissions Director Andrew Nitkin, has been studying guitar for four years. Marguerite Kay, age 14, is receiving the state award for her Level 5 Flute Assessment, which was ranked First Class Honors. Ms. Kay, student of Wharton faculty member Kristen Wuest, has been studying flute for five years. Ms. Kay also plays piano.

Wharton Music Center, located at 60 Locust Avenue in Berkeley Heights, provides music, theatre, and dance instruction, educational programs, and performances for children, teens, and adults. In addition to instruction in all instruments and voice, WMC offers classes in musical theatre, dance, drama, choral music, vocal music, music theory, audio recording, early childhood music, and music for children with special needs. Offering a range of musical genres including classical, rock, jazz, and blues, WMC is one of New Jersey’s largest independent non-profit community performing arts center serving students in Union, Morris, Essex, Somerset, and other surrounding counties.

WMC offers orchestral and ensemble music education for grades 3 through 12 through New Jersey Youth Symphony (NJYS) located at 570 Central Avenue in New Providence. NJYS, one of the foremost youth orchestras in the state, has eleven orchestras and ensembles for which auditions are held annually. NJYS’s premiere orchestra, Youth Symphony, has performed in internationally renowned concert halls such as Carnegie Hall in New York City and Musikverein in Vienna.

The mission of Wharton Music Center, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, is to advance excellence and education in the performing arts. For more information, visit www.WhartonMusicCenter.org or www.NJYS.org.