Friday, January 17, 2025
A quintet of fourth grade students from Malverne’s Davison Avenue Intermediate School were recently selected to participate in the Nassau Music Educators Association All-County P.E.A.K. Music Festival at Freeport High School.
Anushka Seelall, Harper Hunt, Cameron Bjelland, Eva Beltzer and Liam Akou joined student musicians and teachers from across the county for a full day of interactive and collaborative music workshops led by music educators.
The festival is a celebrated annual event in Nassau County, New York, designed to inspire and nurture the youngest musicians in the region. P.E.A.K., which stands for Parents, Educators, and Kids, focuses on introducing elementary-level students to the joys of musical collaboration and performance.
Founded in the early 2000s, the festival was created to provide an enriching, non-competitive environment for budding musicians. Unlike traditional festivals aimed at older, more advanced students, P.E.A.K. emphasizes musical exploration, creativity, and the foundational skills of ensemble performance.
Participants, selected from schools across Nassau County, experience a day of workshops, rehearsals, and performances under the guidance of professional music educators and guest conductors.
The festival highlights the importance of community support in music education as parents and educators playing an integral role. It’s an entry point for students who may later participate in NMEA’s prestigious All-County festivals at higher-grade levels.
The P.E.A.K. program accepts students as young as 9. The NMEA All County Festival spans two weeks and includes seven different concert events.
In the PEAK Division, music teachers may nominate up to 7 students and as long as all paperwork is received by the deadline, ALL 7 Students are accepted!
Students must prepare the Chorus music in advance, and all other fun musical workshop materials are taught the day of the festival.
Each PEAK Student attends with a parent and the nominating music teacher. All other family members are invited to watch the performance at the end of the Festival day! The 2024 P.E.A.K Festival was held on Nov. 23.
Held annually, the P.E.A.K. Music Festival reflects NMEA’s commitment to fostering a lifelong love of music and supporting young talent. It continues to grow as a cornerstone event for music education in the county.
Students joined their choral peers on stage and performed a concert in front of hundreds of proud parents and teachers.
