Sunburst News - June 2025

June 1, 2025

June 2025 - Issue #94

IN THIS ISSUE:

Spirit Week 🎨
Sunburst Sessions 🎧
Video Game Music Show 🎮
Trial Lesson Promo 🆓
Photoshoot Call 📸
Free Classes 🎹
Congrats, grads! 🎉
Summer Policy ☀️
School Closure Reminder 🗓

Summer Recitals - 6/6, 6/7, 6/8, 6/13, 6/14
Sunburst Spirit Week - 6/9-6/15
Adult Band Showcase - 6/12
Music Producers Meet-Up - 6/13
Juneteenth - 6/19
Piano Club - 6/27
Sunburst Jams - 6/27
Drum Circle - 6/28
Songwriter Group Share - 6/29
4th of July Break - 7/4-7/6
Video Game Music Concert - 7/12

Sunburst Spirit Week

Show up and show out for Sunburst Spirit Week from June 9th to 15th! Each day has an exciting theme and we would love for our students and staff to participate. Mark your calendars and we'll see you in your best Spirit Week gear next week!

Sunburst Sessions

We are so excited to share that the first session of Sunburst Sessions is now ready to be seen! Head over to our YouTube channel to watch an incredible performance by the Thanankarn Limtham Jazz Trio, whose smooth and soulful set kicks off our series with elegance and energy.

This marks the beginning of a monthly showcase of musical excellence from our Sunburst community. Don’t miss the music, stories, and creativity that make Sunburst shine!

Subscribe to catch all future sessions as they premiere!

Watch Here

Video Game Music Concert

Calling all gamers! Join us for an evening of video game music by the Thanakarn Limtham Jazz Trio, featuring Thanakarn Limtham (aka Dr. Bank) on keys, Charlie Scott on bass, and Stephen Weinstein on drums. They’ll perform an exciting selection of songs from popular video games that are just as fun to play as they are to listen to. This is a show you won’t want to miss!

Location: Sunburst School of Music

Date: Saturday, July 12th

Time: 7pm

Get Tickets

Free Trial Lesson Promo

All month long, we're offering free trial private lessons at Sunburst! It's a great time to explore a new instrument, switch things up, or invite a friend or sibling to join the fun. As a reminder, for every referral you make, you get to spin our prize wheel! Reach out to book your free trial, or click the link below.

*Limit of one free trial per student.

Book a Free Trial

Upcoming Performances

June is full of student performances! Here’s a list of upcoming events where you can see Sunburst students and staff perform:

June 8 & 14 – Recitals at HAVEN!
June 12 – Adult Band Program Summer Showcase at Mr. Smalls’ Funhouse
June 28 – Squirrel Hill Night Market: Sunburst bands performing
June 29 – Open Streets: Sunburst bands performing

See you there!

Photoshoot Casting Call

We’re refreshing the Sunburst website and want real students front and center! We're looking for volunteers of all ages for a fun photo shoot on Sunday, July 27th from 1–4pm.

We're looking to capture the everyday magic that happens at our school, including students in lessons with their teachers, group classes and band rehearsals in action, Music Together classes in session, and students around our studio simply enjoying making music! All participants will receive hi-rez copies of their photos to send to grandma, print on a mug, etc.—plus our eternal gratitude!

Please reply to this email if you’d like to volunteer. We need students from ALL programs - every age and level helps show what makes our school special!

Music Producers Meet-Up

June 13th

Make connections with other young producers, share your works in progress, and receive feedback from your peers at the Music Producers Meet-Up led by Charlie Scott.

Ages 14+ | 7–9PM

Piano Club

June 27th

Get some extra practice in, expand your knowledge of music theory, and gain performance experience with Piano Club led by our instructor Jaime Cohen.

Ages 5–7 | 5:30–6:15PM
Ages 8+ | 6:15–7:00PM

Sunburst Jams

June 27th

Meet up to jam on your favorite songs with other students! Kids and Adult sessions available.

Ages 8+ | 5:30–7PM
Adults 18+ | 7–9PM

Community Drum Circle

June 28th

Start making cohesive and exciting music in only a few minutes with our drum instructor Matt Price!

All Ages | 6PM
No sign up required

Songwriter Group Share - Last Sundays

June 29th | 3–5PM

Meet with fellow songwriters and share your works in progress in a supportive space!

Adults 18+

Congrats, grads!

As the school year wraps up, we want to recognize the high school seniors in the Sunburst community. Whether you're continuing with lessons or heading into new adventures, this is an exciting milestone and we're proud of all the dedication and growth you've shown along the way.

Wishing you all the best, and don’t forget to stay connected. You’ll always be part of the Sunburst community!

Summer Policy

We understand that summer schedules can be unpredictable, and that’s why we’re excited to offer you even more flexibility with your lessons. In addition to our usual makeup allowance, you can now cancel up to 4 lessons between June and August and receive a tuition credit! Just let the front desk know you'd like to use a summer cancelation, and they will adjust your account accordingly.

This new policy allows you to balance your summer activities while continuing to make progress in your musical journey. Reach out to our team if you have any questions about scheduling or cancellations, and we’ll be happy to help.

School Closure Reminder

Sunburst will be closed on Juneteenth, 6/19. 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.

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.