Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame Announces 2024 ‘Educator of Note’ Award Winner
Presentation Event on February 1st to Honor Rocky Point Music Teacher Craig Knapp
STONY BROOK, NY—The Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame (LIMEOHF) recently announced Rocky Point Elementary Music Teacher and Department Chairperson Craig Knapp as its 2024 ‘Educator of Note’ winner. Knapp will accept the award at a special presentation ceremony on February 1st at LIMEHOF in Stony Brook (97 Main Street Stony Brook, NY) at 2 p.m. The event will feature a performance and visual presentation. The public is invited to attend. For ticket details, please visit https://www.limusichalloffame.org/tickets-and-gift-cards/
“The Long Island Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame is thrilled to honor Craig Knapp with the ‘Educator of Note’ Award and to recognize his extraordinary dedication, innovation, and profound impact on countless students and on music education in our community,” said LIMEHOF Vice Chairman Tom Needham, who manages LIMEHOF’s education programs.
With an impressive career that spans 27 years on Long Island, Craig Knapp is the 18th music teacher to be recognized by LIMEHOF since the ‘Educator of Note’ Award was established in 2007. This award recognizes exceptional teachers who demonstrate a commitment to music education, play an active role in the community, and have a significant influence on the lives of music students of all backgrounds and abilities.
“I am absolutely honored to be inducted into the Long Island Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame as the 2024 recipient of their ‘Educator of Note,’ said Knapp. “To be included on the list of past honorees—many of whom I have worked with collaboratively in a variety of music education organizations, committees, conferences, and initiatives—is both gratifying and humbling. I am very proud that I carved out a successful career in a rather unconventional and unique way.”
Craig Knapp is the director of the Nassau and Suffolk Treble Choirs of the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of New York, Elementary Classroom Music Specialist and Choral Director in the Rocky Point Public School District, former Adjunct Assistant Professor at Hofstra University, former Director of the Early Childhood Community Music Program at Stony Brook University, music educator, guest conductor, clinician, folk dance leader and author. He says of all his accomplishments, the most significant honor to him is the lasting influence he has had on his students.
“I have the luckiest job in the world as I get to wake up every Monday morning and make music with incredible children,” Knapp said. “Of all that I have achieved—more important than any accolades I could receive, books I could publish, guest conducting opportunities I could receive, invitations to present at professional development conferences, or performances I direct—my greatest accomplishment, and what I’m most proud of, is that students still come to visit me decades later to tell me that I was their favorite teacher and to thank me for the positive impact I had on their life. What could be better than that?”
For more information about the LIMEHOF ‘Educator of Note’ Award, visit https://www.limusichalloffame.org/educator-of-note/