CARTERET, NJ – Mayor Daniel J. Reiman and the URSB Carteret Performing Arts & Events Center are pleased to announce the Master Class Program for Middle School and High School Students.
The Master Class Program, sponsored in part by a $250,000 grant from Amazon, is an interactive workshop series taught by Professional and College level instructors in various performing arts genres. The series provides the students with teamwork opportunities and skill-building exercises that exposure to the arts has been proven to provide. The first two workshops in the series were taught by Greg Kennedy, a world-renowned Cirque du Soleil juggler, and Max Weinberg, the drummer from Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band.
“The Carteret Master Class Program is an extremely valuable resource for students as they prepare for their college years and entry to the workforce,” said Mayor Dan Reiman. “Our Carteret community embraces the arts and the opportunities they provide for our children. We are thankful to Amazon and all our corporate sponsors for their generous support of the arts in our Borough.”
Carteret Middle and High School students may attend classes in person for free, which will be live streamed to students across other school districts for additional outreach.
Master Class instructors include local songwriters, orchestra musicians, ballet choreographers, musicians, and corporate leaders whose lives have been enhanced through participation in arts programs.
“The Carteret Master Class is a wonderful initiative that enriches students’ lives and helps them succeed in other academic areas, beyond the arts,” said Jillian Irvin, Amazon’s Sr. Manager of Regional Policy in New Jersey. “We’re thankful for the opportunity to join with the Carteret Performing Arts and Events Center to help bring this innovative programming to Carteret youth.”
There is no fee for students to attend the program.
“The arts are a critical part of a well-rounded, holistic education and this partnership is going to prove immensely advantageous for our students,” said Assembly Speaker Craig J. Coughlin. “The interactive workshops are a great outlet through which students will be afforded the opportunity to further explore and develop their creative curiosities, enriching the surrounding community in the years to come.”
According to Americans for the Arts, research has found that art education enables valuable physical and mental development in adolescents. Art education also enhances fine motor skills, neurological development and problem-solving abilities in young students which creates greater success in subjects like reading, writing, science, and arithmetic. A study by the University of California at Los Angeles of over 25,000 middle and high school students observed that students with high involvement in the arts performed better on standardizes tests than students with lower exposure to the arts. Additional studies also indicate that high school students who have taken arts classes receive higher SAT scores in the math and verbal sections.
The Carteret Performing Arts and Events Center, which opened in 2021, hosts events, performances, conferences, and arts education programs year round on the corner of Washington Ave and Cooke Ave in the newly constructed Carteret Arts Districts.
For more information on the Master Class Program or the Carteret Performing Arts and Events Center, visit CarteretPac.com or contact Diana St. John at 888-541-CPAC or info@CarteretPAC.com
