Sunburst News - December 2024

Alex Stanton • December 4, 2024

December 2024 - Issue #88

IN THIS ISSUE:

Holiday Gift Guide 🎁
Celebrate the Holidays at the Snow Ball ❄️
Free Classes 🎼
Enroll in Music Together 🎵
Band Program Winter Concerts 🎸
Food Drive Thanks ❤️
Instructor Spotlight: Bank Limtham 🎹
Student Spotlight: Carl Frankel 🎉
Holiday Break Reminder 🗓

IMPORTANT DATES:

Music Together Winter Enrollment Opens - 12/1
Squirrel Hill Wine Walk - 12/7
The Snow Ball - 12/20
Holiday Break - 12/24–1/1
Kids Winter Concert - 1/26
Adult Winter Concert - 2/1

Holiday Gift Guide

Trying to decide on a musical gift this year? The Sunburst Holiday Gift Guide is back for 2024! From appropriate starter instruments and upgrades for kids and adults to the perfect accessories for anyone musically inclined, we’re here to help. As always, we recommend shopping local as well as buying used (check out our tips on wading into the wild used gear marketplace) when you can. Remember, you can always talk to your teacher about recommendations specific to you. We musicians are nothing if not opinionated about gear! We’d also like to advocate that the best instrument for you might be the one you already have, and the real gift is getting to share the joy of music with your friends and family!

Read the Full Guide on our Blog

Celebrate the Holidays at Sunburst!

Celebrate the end of the year with us at the Sunburst Snow Ball on Friday, December 20th from 5:30–8:30pm. There will be games, crafts, live music, and more! All ages are welcome, including our Music Together crowd. Hope to see you there!

Activities: 5:30–7:00

Live Music: 7:00-8:30

Free Fun Alert: Sunburst Jams & Piano Club

Due to the busy holiday season, the next Piano Club and Sunburst Jams will take place in January 2025. These sessions are held monthly on Fridays, and they are FREE!

Piano Club with Jaime Cohen | Ages 8+

This group meets on the 3rd Friday of every month from 6:30–7:30, and it's a great opportunity for our piano students to dive deeper into music theory, enjoy interactive and educational games like Music Jeopardy, and gain performance experience!

Date: January 17th

Time: 6:30–7:30

Sunburst Jams

Join us for our monthly jam session on the 4th Friday of every month. The kids' session for ages 8 and up meets from 5:30–7:00 PM, followed by the adult session from 7:00–9:00 PM. Both sessions are very beginner-friendly, and the goal is to simply play music together, have fun, and maybe make some new friends along the way!

Date: January 24th

Ages 8+: 5:30–7:00 PM

Ages 21+: 7:00–9:00 PM

Enroll in Music Together this Winter!

Enrollment for the winter term of Music Together and Rhythm Kids is now open! Classes will start the first week of January and meet for 12 weeks. Sign up today to join in on the fun!

Mixed-Age Class | Ages 0–5

Join our Music Together Mixed Ages class and experience the joy of making music as children ages 0–5 and their caregivers sing, dance, and play instruments together!

Rhythm Kids | Ages 4–5

Discover the joy of Rhythm Kids Level I, where children ages 4-5 explore drumming, rhythm, and creative music-making in this fun and engaging class!

Enroll here

The Sunburst Band Program Takes the Stage

Join us in the new year for the Sunburst Band Program Winter Concerts! With 10 incredible bands between the kid and adult age groups, we’ll be celebrating their hard work on separate dates to give each group their moment to shine. We can’t wait to see you there!

Kid and Teen Bands | January 26th

The Funhouse at Mr Smalls

4–7pm

Adult 18+ Bands | February 1st

The Government Center

8–11pm | $10 Door

Food Drive Thanks

Thank you for your generosity in supporting the JFCS Food Pantry last month! Together, we donated three boxes of food, helping local families just in time for the holiday season. Your kindness makes a meaningful difference—thank you for being part of our community!

Instructor Spotlight: Dr. Bank Limtham

Dr. Bank and Allison King Spread Holiday Cheer with New Christmas Album on Spotify!

Get ready to add some fresh holiday tunes to your playlist! Our piano instructor, Dr. Bank Limtham, is releasing a Christmas album with his longtime collaborator and friend, Allison King. This festive collection, filled with both timeless classics and original songs, will be available on Spotify just in time to brighten your holiday season.

The album showcases Dr. Bank's skillful musicianship and Allison King's rich sounds of the flute, offering a harmonious blend of traditional holiday cheer and contemporary style. Together, they breathe new life into beloved songs like Oh Holy Night and Angels We Have Heard on High while introducing listeners to original pieces that capture the warmth and joy of the season.

Be sure to follow on Spotify, by clicking on the link below. Don’t miss the chance to make Dr. Bank and Allison King’s Christmas album a part of your holiday tradition this year!

Student Spotlight: Carl Frankel

Join us in wishing Carl Frankel, a guitar student here at Sunburst, a very happy birthday! We hope your special day is filled with joy, laughter, and great memories. Check out Carl's music YouTube channel here.

Holiday Break Reminder

As the holiday season approaches, we want to remind everyone of our holiday break billing policy. Your flat monthly tuition includes lessons every week, except when we are closed for holidays (see our calendar). We do not issue makeup credits for these days. You can view a full list of our billing and scheduling policies in our Terms and Conditions here.

Thank you for your understanding and have a wonderful holiday season!

Thanks for reading!

Let us know if you have any questions, comments, etc. Thanks as always for being a part of the Sunburst Community!

Best Wishes,

–Sunburst Team

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Sunburst News - September 2025

September 1, 2025

Catch up on Sunburst’s latest news: The Sunburst Band Program, Music Together classes, community drum circles, free music classes, new instructors, and upcoming concerts!

Sunburst News - August 2025

August 1, 2025

August- Issue #96

5 Reasons to Start Playing in a Band

July 30, 2025

As summer break comes to a close, we’re gearing up for the next term of the Sunburst Band Program and would love to see some new faces this fall. Playing in a band is one of the best ways to progress as a musician, so we put together a list of five reasons why we encourage our students to seek out opportunities to play in groups—whether it's starting a band or jamming with a couple of friends. Progress Your rhythm, timing, and listening skills improve quickly when you start playing in a band or group setting. While private lessons and solo practice are essential pieces of the puzzle, playing with others introduces new variables—like tempo changes, dynamics, and coordination—that challenge you to stay in sync with your bandmates and adapt to each other. We’ve seen so many students level up after just a couple months in the Sunburst Band Program–the progress happens fast! Friends and Connections We love watching our students and their families become friends and our band program has been a natural starting point for many of those relationships. Some of our current bands have stayed together for years, and it's awesome to see them hang out outside of lessons and support each other at shows. Plus, one of the best ways to get gigs is through connections with other musicians! Motivation Playing in a band is super motivating because you're part of a group working toward an exciting shared goal. Whether you're learning a new song, building a set list, or getting ready for a show, the process becomes more exciting and rewarding when you're making music you love with people you enjoy being around. That shared energy turns practice into something much more fun and meaningful. Performing Performing can be nerve-wracking, but it gets easier the more you do it, and being on stage with your friends makes it less scary. We love seeing how our students' stage presence and confidence grow with each performance—it’s one of our favorite parts of being teachers! As we mentioned, shows are a great place to make connections with musicians who you’d like to collaborate with in the future. Simply put, playing more shows leads to playing more shows. Creative Outlet Music is a powerful tool for expression, and it’s important to have outlets for that at any age! Life is very fast paced for many of us, and it can be tough to pause and do the things you enjoy. Band practice can be a consistent anchor in your week—something you can rely on for connection, processing, and creating with your bandmates. As corny as it sounds, playing music is good for your spirit! If you’d like to know more about the Sunburst Band Program, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us for more information. We also recommend talking with your private lessons instructor so that they’re aware and can help you prepare.