The Art Beat: Your Monthly Creative Pulse for the Phoenix Center for the Arts

April 2026

What's Happening at The Center?

REMINDER: NCAA WOMEN'S FINAL FOUR EVENTS

As our downtown community prepares to welcome the 2026 NCAA Women’s Final Four, please note that Phoenix Center for the Arts’ Downtown campus will be closed through Sunday, April 5, 2026.

During this time, there will be no classes, programs, or access to the building. We’ll resume normal operations on Monday, April 6.

We encourage you to explore the exciting events happening around Hance Park during this historic week. Learn more by visiting the official NCAA Women's Final Four website.

Planning a visit downtown? Downtown Phoenix Inc. has put together a helpful “Know Before You Go” guide covering transportation, street closures, and tips to make the most of your experience.

ARIZONA GIVES 2026

Arizona Gives Day is a powerful opportunity to invest in the arts and in the people who need them most. When you give to Phoenix Center for the Arts, you’re expanding access to meaningful, hands‑on arts programming for our community: from youth and families to veterans, teaching artists, and culture‑bearers across Phoenix.

Your support sustains programs that use art as a tool for healing, inspiration, expression, and connection, ensuring creativity remains accessible, welcoming, and rooted in community care.

Ways to show up for the arts:

Click HERE to make a donation
Share this campaign with friends, family, and colleagues
Create your own fundraiser and invite your network to give alongside you

Don’t wait! You can give now and help Phoenix Center for the Arts continue building spaces where creativity, courage, and community thrive.

DONATE TODAY

RISING YOUTH THEATRE

We’re excited to invite you to an upcoming community event at the Phoenix Center for the Arts in collaboration with Rising Youth Theatre: the Silent Disco Fundraiser.

This all‑ages silent disco will feature incredible DJs and a fun, welcoming atmosphere for kids, adults, friends, and neighbors alike—all while supporting the important work of Rising Youth Theatre and the Phoenix Center for the Arts. It’s a joyful way to come together and give back.

Tickets are available on a sliding scale, allowing you to choose the level that works best for you: $25, $50, or $100. Volunteer opportunities are also available for those who would like to attend and support in another way.

The event takes place on April 11 at 6:00 PM at the Phoenix Center for the Arts. We’d love for you to join us for an evening of music, connection, and community impact.

Tickets and additional details are available at risingyouththeatre.org/silentdisco. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or for more information.

Skye's The Limit Foundation

RESIDENT ORGANIZATION SPOTLIGHT:

Balkan Community Culture and Heritage Organization

Congratulations, Tanya!

We’re thrilled to celebrate Tanya Dimitrov, leader of the Balkan Community Culture and Heritage Organization, for her selection in the City of Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture’s 2026 Artist to Work cohort.

Through choreography that bridges Bulgarian folklore and contemporary dance, Tanya honors ancestral traditions while reimagining them as living, evolving art. Her work powerfully explores identity, migration, and memory.

We’re proud to have her creative leadership as part of the Phoenix Center for the Arts community.

Credit: City of Phoenix Arts + Culture

CLASSES

DEPARTMENT SPOTLIGHT

From first notes to full expression, our Music Department nurtures creativity at every stage. With classes and ensembles for youth and adults, instruction across genres, and opportunities to perform and connect, Phoenix Center for the Arts makes music education accessible, welcoming, and community‑centered. Whether you’re picking up an instrument for the first time or deepening your craft, our music programs create space to grow, be heard, and belong.

Jay Melberg

Downtown

Teaching Artist | Music

Jay Melberg ( music director/composer) currently works at the Phoenix Center for the Arts and has taught piano and voice for thirty years. He also music directs at several Valley Theaters. Mr Melberg has directed more than 60 shows here in the Valley and past favorites include: Little Shop of Horrors, Ave Q, Xanadu, Million Dollar Quartet, The Buddy Holly Story, The Great Gatsby, The Full Monty, Bring it On, Spamalot, Annie, The Lion King Jr, Twilights Quest, ( TheaterWorks) The Little Mermaid, and Chirstmas Carol. The Good Feelz cabaret at Phoenix Theater and Arizona Broadway Theater. He conducted the Phoenix Childrens Chorus in 1994 at Symphony Hall, and has worked with The All Puppet Players for that past 10 years. He has written eight original musicals that have been produced on stage at ASU Kerr Center, the Phoenix Center and Fountain Hills Theater.

Julie Tuttle

Downtown

Teaching Artist | Music

Julie Tuttle teaches class piano at the Phoenix Center for the Arts. She earned her Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from ASU. She taught as an adjunct music professor at Phoenix College before joining the wonderful teaching staff at PCA. She enjoys teaching all levels of class piano, and loves seeing her students find fulfillment in learning this craft. In addition to teaching – Julie has been a collaborative pianist for many years in Phoenix for musical theater, soloists, church services and more. When she’s not teaching piano; Julie enjoys practicing piano, reading, Jazzercise and hanging out at home with her husband and 2 cats.

SUMMER REGISTRATION OPEN (MEMBERS ONLY UNTIL APRIL 15)

SUMMER REGISTRATION

Show your support for the arts in our community with a Membership at Phoenix Center for the Arts. For as little as $60 per year, members receive access to benefits such as early registration for classes, discounts on programs, and invites to special events.

Membership benefits are good for one year from date of purchase, and valid for both the Downtown and Thunderbird campuses. Most memberships are 100% tax deductible!

There are many ways to become a Member:

Annual Memberships are one-time donations that provide Member benefits for 12 months from date of purchase.
Recurring Memberships are monthly donations that provide Member benefits for the duration of the recurring donation.

BECOME A MEMBER

SPRING REGISTRATION CONTINUES (OPEN FOR EVERYONE)

SPRING Classes Beginning Apr & May

Writing as a Humanitarian Act : Anthology Series

Date: April 04, 2026 10:00 am - May 30, 2026 12:00 pm