Sunburst News - January 2026
January 2026 - Issue #101
IN THIS ISSUE:
- Camp Save The Date ☀️
- Music Together Enrollment 🎵
- Sunburst Band Program 🎸
- Sunburst Cabaret 🎤
- Recital Recap ❄️
- Free Classes 🎹
- Drum Circle 🥁
- Donora Album Release Show 🎶
- Staff Updates ❤️
- 2026 School Calendar 🗓
- Policy Update 📄
IMPORTANT DATES
- Producers Meet Up - 1/9
- Piano Club - 1/16
- Drum Circle - 1/17
- Songwriter Group Share - 1/18
- Band Program Showcase - 1/25
- Sunburst Cabaret - 2/13
Summer Camp Enrollment Coming Soon!
Our 2026 Camps go on sale starting January 15th! Keep an eye out for that enrollment email and let us know if you have any questions!
Music Together Winter Enrollment
We are still enrolling for the winter term of Music Together and Rhythm Kids! Classes started the first week of January and will meet for 12 weeks. Check out what classes still have spots available via the link below!
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!
Join the Sunburst Band Program
The Spring Term of the Sunburst Band Program kicks off this February and enrollment is now open! With groups for kids, teens, and adults, the Band Program gives students the chance to rehearse weekly in a real band, learn covers and originals, and work toward live performances in professional venues.
Bands are grouped by age and experience, with a focus on collaboration, musicianship, and confidence. Students build skills you can’t get in private lessons alone, locking in with a drummer, listening across the group, and learning how songs actually come together.
Before the new term begins, current bands will take the stage at the Fall Band Program Showcase on January 25 at Mr. Smalls Funhouse. It’s a great snapshot of what students work toward each term, and a preview of what new bands will be doing in the spring (Perhaps at some kind of 15TH anniversary party for Sunburst??).
To learn more about the available groups and the program, you can fill out the inquiry form below - feel free to reach out with any questions!
Sunburst Cabaret
This February, love is in the air at Sunburst! On February 13th at 7 PM, bring your special someone to the next Sunburst Cabaret: Here’s to Love! Enjoy a variety of music perfect for the Valentine’s season, curated and performed by Sunburst staff and students. Tickets are free, but RSVP while seats are still available! Any donations support the Sunburst Scholarship Fund.
Thank you for a successful winter recital!
We are incredibly grateful to our students, families, instructors, and supporters for making this Winter Recital Season another wonderful success! Over the course of three weekends and 18 recital sessions, our students shared their hard work, growth, and musical gifts, and we could not be more proud of each performance.
We would like to extend a special thank you to everyone who was flexible and understanding with the rescheduling of our Sunday recital at Haven on December 21st due to weather conditions. Your patience and cooperation truly helped us ensure a smooth and positive experience for our performers. At the same time, we sincerely apologize to those students and families who were unable to perform due to the reschedule. Please know that we value your commitment and look forward to celebrating your musical progress at the Spring Recital in June 2026!
Because of your generosity, we raised over $1k throughout the recital season to support our Scholarship Fund. These contributions directly impact students who are unable to pay for lessons, helping to ensure that music education remains accessible to all.
Thank you again for your continued support, generosity, and commitment to our music community. We look forward to an exciting Spring season ahead!
Free Classes This Month
Music Producers Meet Up - Friday, December 12th
The Sunburst Producers Meet-Up is a free monthly gathering hosted by our instructor Charlie Scott for teen producers ages 14 and up to share their works in progress and receive feedback from peers. This group meets on the second Friday of every month from 7–9pm.
Piano Club - Friday, December 19th
Piano Club will meet one week early this month due to the holiday break. Join Jaime Cohen for class on 12/19 for lots of piano fun and games. Piano Club is a great opportunity for students to build music theory skills, play interactive games like Music Jeopardy, and gain performance experience.
Age Groups
- Ages 5–7 from 5:30–6:15pm
- Ages 8+ from 6:15–7pm
Songwriter Group Share - Sunday, December 21st
Are you a seasoned or new songwriter looking to share music and get some peer feedback? Bring your instrument, voice, and what you’re working on to our monthly songwriting group, peer facilitated by Abbey Martin. This group is open to all adults ages 18+ including non Sunburst students.
Drum Circle
Join Matt Price at Sunburst School of Music on January 17th from 6–7:30pm for a free community drum circle. This is a free event for all ages. Instruments are provided too!
Drum Circle
Join Matt Price at Sunburst School of Music on January 17th from 6–7:30pm for a free community drum circle. This is a free event for all ages. Instruments are provided too!
2026 School Calendar
Our school calendar is set for 2026! You can view the calendar at sunburstmusic.com/calendar
Staff Updates
We would like to share an important update with our Sunburst community. Our Office Manager, Saige Smith, will be concluding her time with us as she prepares to relocate to New York City to pursue her acting career.
Saige has been an invaluable part of our school’s daily operations, supporting our students, families, and staff with exceptional care, professionalism, and dedication. From scheduling and communication to keeping the office running, her contributions have made a lasting impact on our community. We are deeply grateful for the time, energy, and heart she has poured into Sunburst. We invite our students and families to join us in wishing Saige continued success as she steps into this exciting new chapter!
We are also pleased to share that admin Erin Higgins will be stepping into the role of Office Manager, with Akiliann Bray serving as our Assistant Office Manager. We are confident they will continue to support our community with excellence and care.
2026 Policy Update
Thank you to everyone who contributed to our policy survey last fall, we were truly amazed by how many thoughtful responses we got. Based on your input, we are excited to share updates to our private lesson make up policy:
- No cap on makeup lessons
- 24 hours’ notice required (except in cases of illness or emergency)
- Makeup passes are now valid for 6 months (extended from 3 months)
- More available makeup times - we are expanding our self-service booking window to display more options and are also working toward offering additional dedicated makeup times with our busiest instructors
Full details on the update are on our Terms page, the rest of the changes there are mostly clarifications to existing language. Thanks again for providing your feedback and for being a part of things at Sunburst!
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
