The Nassau Music Educators Association recently held its fourth annual PEAK (Parents, Educators, and Kids) Music Festival at Uniondale High School in Uniondale.

One hundred and fifty outstanding third grade music students from eighteen districts across Nassau County were selected to attend the event, which is open to students and their music teachers. The theme for this year's festival was "Celebrate Music."

Massapequa's R.J. Lockhart Elementary School sent 8 talented third graders to the festival, along with their music teacher Angela Stefanini. Each student participated in three 45-minute music sessions, which gave students the opportunity to participate in a hands-on approach to creating and performing music. Some session topics included: Improvising on Orff Instruments, Moving to Music, Playing Handchimes, Dancing to the Nutcracker Suite, Folk Dancing, Performing a Play, and of course, singing.

The day culminated in a thrilling performance for parents during which students showcased the many workshop activities they learned that morning. R.J.Lockhart Music teacher Angela Stefanini commented, "This festival was a wonderful opportunity for young musicians to learn so much about music performance in an engaging and hands on way. The parents were so impressed to see what the musicians accomplished in such a short amount of time!"