Colchester, Vermont - June 22, 2006

It was a test kids didn't mind studying for. And parents couldn't ask them to turn down the music-- the music WAS the test. Thursday night, the Contois School of Music held a recital unlike any it's held before. Instead of Bach, Brahms or Beethoven, piano student Clare Murphy chose the Black-Eyed Peas.

"It was a good tune to do on the piano because of all the different instruments. There's strings, bass, different piano, so it was a good tune to pick," explained Murphy.

"We're trying to get a different kind of music to them. It's always been classical oriented before, now we're getting them into classic rock, popular tunes, the whole idea is to get them to play together," said Dave Contois of Contois School of Music.

These kids have been practicing since October. For many, it was their first time performing in public.

"As you get closer to the performance, you practice more. There's a bunch of rehearsals, and you practice your piece at home and play with the cd so you get your part in with the blackeyed peas," said Murphy.

"But they do get really good and that's what's really neat. And they'll all be stunned by how good they are now. I love it," exclaimed instructor San Gordon.

The kids worked hard-- maybe that's why it's called hard rock.

Kate Duffy - Channel 3 News