On Friday, March 6, the Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts will be celebrating its successful music education programs that have changed lives with a special gala entitled “West Side Story” in Paterson, at the Westmount Country Club in Woodland Park. Stone serves as honorary president of the event, which will feature performances by students from the Paterson Music Project, the New Jersey Youth Symphony and the School of the Performing Arts. The gala is inspired by Steven Spielberg's new version of the classic film that was partially shot last summer in Paterson, home of the Wharton Institute's Paterson Music Project. The director, who won an award for a three-minute film screened at the New York Film Festival three years ago, said that “the purpose of 'Deep Sleep' is to make people laugh about sex. Irma Yucht, an angry young woman in her thirties and the wife of a lawyer, mentioned that she and her husband had never seen a pornographic film before, but that they went to watch it because their street was in it. Jamie, an award-winning film director, also writes articles and poetry that have been published in various publications, from Opera News to Town & Country.
About half of the people who appear in the film are residents of the Paterson area, all friends and relatives of the Suns, and the rest are professional actors. The Paterson Music Project offers after-school and weekend experiences for young people in the second largest school district in New Jersey through the community experience of learning and playing together. The event will include performances by students from this program as well as from other music education programs in New Jersey. The gala will also be attended by special guests from the film industry. Director Steven Spielberg is expected to attend as well as some of the actors from his new version of West Side Story. Other celebrities may also be present at this exclusive event. The Wharton Institute for Performing Arts is devoted to providing quality music education to students in New Jersey.
This gala is a celebration of their success and a chance to recognize those who have been involved with their programs. It is sure to be an exciting evening filled with music and entertainment.
