Masterwork Arts Grants $15,000 Premier Award to Premiere Stages

Madison, New Jersey  –  August 2026

The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation is pleased to announce that Premiere Stages at Kean University is the recipient of our Premier Award in Theatre!  This year’s award has been expanded from $10,000 to $15,000 in the interest of supporting four new works, all top finalists from Premiere Stages’ Play Festival. 

 

Premiere Stages is the professional Equity Theatre in residence at Kean University. In a unique partnership with Kean, Premiere Stages contributes to the academic curriculum of the University as well as offering professional programming on the campus.  Premiere’s Play Festival has developed over 60 news plays since its inception with this year’s Festival generating nearly 900 submissions. 

 

Masterwork Foundation’s President, Tony Javed, remarked on the strategic partnership with Premiere Stages, noting “What a privilege and treat it has been to collaborate with the passionate, smart and delightful team at Premiere Stages led by Producing Artistic Director, John Wooten and Managing Director, Nick Gandiello! It’s been a most rewarding reminder that provocative, entertaining and inspiring art is all around us and it’s with deepest pride that the Masterwork Foundation team has the opportunity help bring such works to fruition.”

 

The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation applauds Premiere Stage’s commitment to providing excellence in the arts with this year’s award and the following beneficiaries: 

 

Everything’s Going My Way

by Sophie Boyce

The winner of this year’s festival will receive a $10,000 award along with a full production of the play to run from July 15 through August 1, 2027.

 

Play Description:

Colin is a psychotherapist assigned to work with the volatile, complicated 17-year-old, Noah. As Noah rebels against the sessions, his mother clings to a belief that he can get better while Colin is drawn into a dangerous paternal protectiveness. Everything's Going My Way compassionately explores masculine intimacy, the ferocity of motherhood, and connection in its most fragile and complicated forms.

Red Bell

by Katherine Swan

The runner up for this year’s festival will receive a $3,000 award as well as two staged readings of the play on December 4 and 6^th, 2026. 

 

Play Description:

When ex-dancer Rina shows up at Hank's gym wanting to learn how to box, she triggers a past trauma that she has struggled to leave behind. As she hurtles towards her first fight, Rina embarks on a journey that will forever transform who she is and who she will become. Red Bell is a wise, provocative play with a startling spin on the underdog narrative.

 

Next Life

by Matthew Capodicasa

Next Life has been awarded $1,000 and a public reading at Premiere Stages with professional actors in June 2026.

 

Play Description:

In this surprisingly humorous and deeply sensitive play, Elise is facing the end of her life. That is, until an experimental drug trial puts her cancer in remission and reverses the aging process. Newly youthened, she sets out to build a new life for herself in this rapidly changing world, even as the things she knows and the people she loves begin to disappear.

 

Biting the Hand
by Deneen Reynolds Knott
Biting the Hand has been awarded $1,000 and a public reading at Premiere Stages with professional actors in June 2026.

 

Play Description:

Chanelle grew up in Ready & Rising and proved the program had the power to change lives. When a public letter throws the organization into crisis, Chanelle finds herself caught between her mentor and maintaining her values. Biting the Hand is an urgent play about the coexistence of gratitude and grievance when trying to be a force for good.

 

Todd Whitley, Executive Director of The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation, offered that,

“Theater arts matter because they possess the unique ability to build community, enlighten minds, initiate conversations, and heal spirts. We recognize the potential for all of that across these remarkable awardees. On behalf of the Board, congratulations!”

 

 

About Premiere Stages

Created in 2004, Premiere Stages is the professional Equity theatre in residence at Kean University. Through its unique partnership with Kean, Premiere’s play development programs, educational initiatives, and professional development opportunities actively embrace the university's academic curriculum while expanding the scope, accessibility, and prestige of the professional programming on campus. For more information, please visit us online at premierestagesatkean.com  

 

About Masterwork Music and Art Foundation

The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation, a non-profit educational organization, promotes, presents, and supports fine and performing arts, including music, literature, theater and visual arts. The Foundation's purpose is dedicated to the advancement of cultural and educational pursuits demonstrating the high standards which have become associated with the name, "Masterwork." The Masterwork Foundation gives grants for projects in a range of media including music, visual arts, literary endeavors, and theatrical productions. For more about the Foundation, visit www.masterworkarts.org 

 

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R. Wayne Walters Receives Our A Life in the Arts Award

Perhaps the most joyous part of our May 17th event, which was sponsored in part by PSEG, was the opportunity to recognize someone who's had an immeasurable impact on the arts over the course of a long and varied career. R. Wayne Walters has alternated across a number of roles from soloist to educator to conductor to composer to name just a few.  He is also a former Board member of The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation and a great friend to many. All of this made Wayne the inspiration for our first  A Life in the Arts Award. 

In the image featured here Joseph White (Board Treasurer and host of our YouTube A Life in the Arts series), presents Wayne with a commemorative plaque. 

For his part, Wayne treated us to a premier performance of his latest work, Ode to the Sea, performed by The Morris Choral Society -- a group Wayne also founded. This work was inspired by a letter from a friend, Father Kenneth Lasch, who was also in attendance.  To see the complete roster of performances, view the event Program Guide. 

Pictured here is Wayne with Morris Choral Society singers. 

This is a group shot of the Masterwork Arts Board with Wayne. Pictured from left: Joseph White (Board Treasurer), R. Wayne Walters, Tony Javed (Board President), Eric Hafen, Joen Ferrari, John Thomas, Alice Glock (Masterwork Arts Administrator), Carol May and Todd Whitley (Masterwork Arts Executive Director). Mathews Philips (Board Vice President) was unable to attend the event.

Press Recognizing Wayne

The 65th Celebration generating some nice press on Wayne, including the following: 

WhoFish - Local Events, Businesses and Coupons - Editor's Choice Events for New Jersey

Masterwork Music and Art Foundation to Honor Wayne Walters' 65th Birthday Celebration on May 17

Masterwork Music and Art Foundation - Explore New Jersey

Masterwork Music and Art Foundation to Honor Wayne Walters At 65th Birthday Celebration on May 17th

Thanks to Don Jay Smith of LKS Associates for his work securing these placements. 

About Our Honoree - R. Wayne Walters' Bio

Educator - Conductor - Soloist - Composer 

R. Wayne Walters is a well-known New Jersey musician who sings, composes, and conducts in the Morris area and beyond. After graduation from Wilkes University with a B S. Degree in Music Education, Mr. Walters was granted a graduate voice scholarship by the Julliard School of Music where he was a student of the renowned coach and music editor, Sergius Karen. He later earned an M.A. degree in voice and conducting at the College of New Jersey.

Mr. Walters was the founder and current Conductor Emeritus of the Morris Choral Society, now in its 52nd season. The award-winning community chorus toured England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, Italy, Germany and Poland under his direction. As a bass-baritone soloist he performed in concerts, recitals, operas, oratorios and Musical Theater throughout the eastern United States. He appears with the New Philharmonic Orchestra, the Summit Symphony, the Montclair Civic Chorus and Orchestra, the Princeton Opera Theater, the Sussex Lyric Opera, the College of New Jersey Opera Workshop, and the St. Cecilia Chorus. He performed with the Masterwork Chorus under David Randolph, making his Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center debuts in Handel’s “Messiah.” He later returned t Carnegie Hall as a repeat conductor at the annual “Messiah Sing.”

 

Mr. Walters was a music educator in the New Jersey Public Schools for thirty-six years , a music teacher and director of choruses at Morristown High School, and guest conductor for the New Jersey School of Music Association. He was honored as Master Choral Music Teacher by the NJ Music Educators and received The Governor’s Award for excellence in the New Jersey “Arts in Education” program. Walters received national recognition as one of eight educators in the country selected to participate in the filming of :Craft and Joy in Teaching,: a video for teacher training in American Colleges and universities. He is a past member of the music an education faculties of Fairleigh Dickenson University and served many rears as adjutant professor of music and instruct of voice at the College of St. Elizabeth. Presently, Walters serves as an area adjudicator for the National Society of Arts an dLetters.

 

As a composer of choral and instrumental music, Walters was granted a fellowship by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and the Masterwork Music and Art foundation. Among his compositions are choral motets, choral art songs, two suites for symphonic winds, “Nocturn for Cello and Piano”, a Scherzo for Euphonium, four choral works on the poetry of Myra Brooks Welsh, a “Dedication mass”, and a setting of the Friday evening Reformed Jewish Liturgy. His “Requiem Mass in D Minor” was dedicated to Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton and premiered in 2007. His most ambitious compositions include “Six Anthems for the Season of Christmas” for chorus, flute, oboe and bells, and “Ode to the Sea” for chorus and piano based on the poetic writing os Father Kenneth Lasch.

 

Mr. Walters resides in Morris Plains, NJ with his wife Ann where he continues to compose, conduct and sing with the choir at St Marry’s Benedictine Abbey in Morristown.

About The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation

The Masterwork Music and Arts Foundation has been supporting excellence in the arts for over 60 years. One hundred percent of your donation funds art and artists through community grants, an emerging artist award, and a premier award for a new work. Find out more at www.masterworkarts.org.

A Life in the Arts: Laurie Kenagy, Executive Director of the Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra

 In this A Life in the Arts interview we get to know Laurie Kenagy, Executive Director of the Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra (RSO) a little better. 

The Orchestra's mission to enrich the cultural lives of the citizens of Ridgefield and surrounding communities by presenting musical performances of the highest artistic quality. The RSO also strives to increase the appreciation for music through active community involvement and innovative educational programs.

Laurie has been the Executive Director for the past decade and has done much to increase the profile or the orchestra in that time. 

See the full interview on our YouTube channel. 

About The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation

The Masterwork Music and Arts Foundation has been supporting excellence in the arts for over 60 years. One hundred percent of your donation funds art and artists through community grants, an emerging artist award, and a premier award for a new work. Find out more at www.masterworkarts.org.

Congratulations to Our 2026 Community Arts Grant Awardees

June 2026

Our Community Arts Grant Awards are designed to support the incredible artists and organizations bringing creative excellence to our local communities. This year, we offered four grants to creators across the tri-state area:

 

1 Grant at the $1,000 level

3 Grants at the $500 level

 

A huge Thank You to our Program Committee—Joseph White, Eric Hafen, Eileen White, Tony Javed, and Alice Glock—for their dedication to evaluating this year's applicants and defining our award criteria.

 

Here are this year’s awardees:

 

·      The $1,000 award goes to the Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra

 

The RSO Quartet, comprised of the principal string players of the Ridgefield Symphony

Orchestra, will perform a concert inspired by the visual art of the exhibition The Aldrich Decennial: I am what is around me.  The exhibition features artists who live and work in the state of Connecticut.

  

For more about this event and the Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra, visit: www.ridgefieldsymphony.org

 

$500 awards go to each of the following:

·      The Masterwork Chorus – The Chorus offers a Reach Out program, which brings live choral music directly to senior citizens and individuals residing at assisted living, rehabilitation, and healthcare facilities throughout Morris County. It is the cornerstone of their outreach efforts and is made possible entirely through the dedication of volunteer singers, under the leadership of Carol Walker, Assistant Director/Accompanist.

For more about the Masterwork Chorus, visit: www.masterwork.org.

 

·      Found Sound Circle –  Sound Bridges is a two-hour, site-responsive community arts event centered on the Bettenbender Plaza bridge at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts, New Brunswick, NJ. The event will invite participants into a guided exploration of the site’s sonic environment, culminating in a collaborative composition, developed and performed in real time by Found Sound Circle ensemble members and audience participants.

 

For more about the Found Sound Circle, visit: www.stephanieleotsakos.com/foundsoundcircle

·      FJK Dance – The dance company will present a Fall performance of To Heart, a multimedia production by Fadi Joseph Khoury. Inspired by the poetry of Rumi. Through the integration of contemporary dance, live painting, calligraphy, music, video projection, and animation, To Heart highlights the beauty and depth of Middle Eastern culture while challenging cultural stereotypes.

 

For more about FJK Dance, visit: www.fjkdance.org

 

Congratulations to all of this year’s awardees!

 

About The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation

The Masterwork Music and Arts Foundation has been supporting excellence in the arts for over 60 years. One hundred percent of your donation funds art and artists through community grants, an emerging artist award, and a premier award for a new work. Find out more at www.masterworkarts.org.

 

Applications Available for Masterwork's 2026-2027 Community Arts Grants

March 2026

4 Community Arts Grants Available!

Applicants must submit their entries to masterworkarts@gmail.com by midnight Friday, May 1 to be considered for the 2026-2027 grant season. 

The Masterwork Music and Arts Foundation is pleased to offer a number of community grants to organizations or individuals striving for excellence in the arts. 

 

For the 2026-2027 community grant season, we’ll be giving out four grants. One grant will be given at the $1,000 level. Three additional grants will be issued at the $500 level. The Masterwork Board encourages individual aspiring artists and arts organizations located in the tri-state area of New Jersey, New York and Connecticut to apply. 

 

Here are more specifics on our grant criteria: 

• We’re looking for the best proposals for arts projects that encompasses fine and performing arts - including music, dance, the visual arts, and nonprofit theatrical productions that engage the community. 
• Volunteer involvement is an important factor. Please explain how volunteers will be engaged for your submission.
• Individual aspiring artists and arts organizations in New Jersey and New York are encouraged to apply.
• Works that illustrate a commitment to excellence in the arts -- either through theme or by design will receive greater consideration.
• Note that this award is not intended to cover operating expenses or support for a fundraising initiative.
• 2025-2026 Community Grant Awardees should not apply. 
• Applicants will need to email masterworkarts@gmail.com for an official form and then submit the completed form to masterworkarts@gmail.com by midnight Friday, May 1, 2026. 
• Applicants should identify how The Masterwork Music and Art Foundation will be recognized in relation to the work. 

  

How to Apply:

Email masterworkarts@gmail.com for your application. Fill it out and email it back to masterworkarts@gmail.com  before midnight Friday, May 1, 2026. 

 

Awardees agree to be featured in Masterwork Arts promotional materials and promote Masterwork Arts offerings. Awardees will be notified the week of May 11 with the formal announcement held at the Masterwork Gala on May 17, 2026 at the Morristown Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. The Gala will run from 3:00 – 6:00. Awardees will be notified in advance and encouraged to attend.

 

For questions about the above contact masterworkarts@gmail.com

 

About Masterwork Arts  

 

The Masterwork Music and Arts Foundation has been supporting excellence in the arts for over 60 years. One hundred percent of your donation funds art and artists through community grants, an emerging artist award, and a premier award for a new work. Find out more at www.masterworkarts.org.

 

 

 

Save the date for our 65th Anniversary Celebration!

 

 

 

 

Save the date for our 65th Anniversary Celebration - Sunday, May 17, in Morristown, NJ!

 

The event includes a special ceremony honoring Wayne Walters, beloved champion of the arts in Morristown, founder of the Morris Choral Society and former Masterwork Music and Art Foundation Board member. 

 

To purchase tickets, visit our ticketing web site.  

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To stay informed, email masterworkarts@gmail.com