OUR STORY
My name is Sasha Perskie. I created Play It Forward to bring music education to children who want to learn music but may not be able to afford the high cost of instruments and lessons.
I've been fortunate enough to receive an education in music. I’m a classically-trained pianist, a guitarist and singer-songwriter, and a choral and a cappella singer. You can learn (and hear) more at sashaperskiemusic.com.
I'm also now a music teacher myself. I work as an instructor at the Lakehouse Music Academy, a 600-student music school based in Asbury Park, NJ, and I founded Harmony Music Instruction, teaching private classes in piano and guitar.
But with Play It Forward, I'm able to reach children who otherwise may not have the chance to learn.
I got the idea for Play It Forward in 2022, when I started at Red Bank Regional High School as a piano major in the school's Visual & Performing Arts Academy (VPA).
The VPA is a selective program, as students must pass an audition process to be accepted as music majors. Unfortunately, many students in our community come from lower-income families and do not grow up with access to a music education, which can be expensive.
I knew that our school wanted to make sure that all of its students had access all to all of its educational programs, so I proposed an idea.
Why not have the music majors in the VPA volunteer as teachers for the community's middle schoolers?
Then, in a few years, when those children were old enough to start high school, they'd be ready to audition for the VPA.
We'd use the school's current generation of music majors to create the next generation -- maybe the best generation yet, drawn from a wider pool of talent than ever.
The school approved my plan, lent us instruments, and agreed to award volunteer credits to all music majors who volunteered as teachers.
Since then, Play It Forward has been holding free after-school classes for middle schoolers in downtown Red Bank. Piano class are held at the Red Bank Woman's Club; vocal classes are held at Red Bank Middle School.
In 2023 I expanded Play It Forward beyond Red Bank, after I started working as a music instructor at the Lakehouse Music Academy in Asbury Park.
Lakehouse is one of the top music schools in the area, but it's based in a community where many families cannot afford a music education.
I began raising funds from local families and businesses to try to address the issue.
Today, Play It Forward funds four full scholarships per year for underserved local children to attend summer camp at Lakehouse Music Academy.
In addition, Play It Forward is helping to fund the year-round music program at Asbury Park's Our Lady of Mt. Carmel School, which serves nearly 200 children from primarily low-income immigrant families.
In 2024 I saw the chance to expand Play It Forward even further. During a sightseeing trip to Zambia to see the famous Victoria Falls, my family visited a local village and toured its school. The children greeted us by singing Zambia's national anthem. But while they loved music, their school had little funding for instruments or music instruction.
Play It Forward began providing funds to pay for the school's music program. We now cover the cost of musical instruments and a year-round instructor.
In June 2025 I returned to the school for several weeks to teach classes in piano, guitar, and songwriting, and direct a concert by the children. You can learn more about that here. I will return in June 2026 to teach another round of class sessions.