Sunburst News - June 2026

June 1, 2026

June 2026 - Issue #106

IN THIS ISSUE:

Recitals This Weekend! 🎤
Sunburst Band Showcase 🎸
Squirrel Hill Night Market 🥁
Summer Policy Reminder ☀️
Free Classes 🎹
School Closure Reminder 📅

IMPORTANT DATES

Recitals at the JCC - 6/6-6/7
Recitals at Sunburst - 6/12-6/13
Sunburst Band Showcase - 6/14
Juneteenth Closure - 6/19
Songwriter Group Share - 6/21
Piano Club - 6/26
Jazz Jam - 6/26
Squirrel Hill Night Market - 6/27
4th of July Closure - 7/4-7/5

Recitals This Weekend

The 2026 Summer Recitals are this weekend! As a reminder, recitals will be held at the JCC in the Katz Performing Arts Center on June 6th and 7th! There are also a few teachers whose sessions will be held on June 12th–13th here at Sunburst.

Participation is free but there is an option both online while signing up and in-person to donate to the Sunburst Music Scholarship Fund, our charitable program that allows kids to take lessons for free. We appreciate your support!

Adults are welcome to join the regular session with their instructors, or they can join the BYOB adults-only session on June 12th from 7-9pm here at Sunburst. We look forward to seeing your performances!

Sunburst Band Program Showcase

Our Band Program students will be taking the stage at Mr. Smalls Funhouse for their Summer Showcase on June 14th! These bands have spent this semester prepping their own curated sets of covers and originals for this very moment! Featuring the Sunburst House Band, Radio Nemo, Korok, and more!

Date: June 14th

Location: The Funhouse at Mr. Smalls

Time: 4pm

Get Tickets

Join Us at the Squirrel Hill Night Market

Every year, Squirrel Hill comes together for 3 fun nights of music, food, shopping, and community in the middle of Murray Avenue. Sunburst is proud to be a part of Uncover Squirrel Hill helping put on these events. Each Night Market features Sunburst bands and students between 6–7pm, followed by performances from local and touring bands and artists of a wide variety of genres.

The first Squirrel Hill Night Market of 2026 takes place June 27th featuring Sunburst Bands Ampersand and A Name for Today and a special performance from our drum student Katie. Then, stay tuned for Witch's Mark, BBGuns, and the Sunshine Committee. See you there!

Summer Policy Reminder

We understand that summer schedules can be unpredictable, and that’s why we’d like to offer you even more flexibility with your lessons. This summer, you can cancel up to 4 lessons between June and August for tuition credit.

How it works: Let the front desk know when you’d like to cancel a lesson and use a summer cancelation by the 25th of the month prior to the cancelation. We’ll mark it as a summer cancellation and apply a tuition credit to your account for the next available bill.

If the request is made after the 25th, the tuition credit will be applied to the following month instead of the upcoming billing cycle. Please note that no refunds will be issued.

Reminder about our regular makeup policy: Our standard makeup policy is still in place. If you cancel a lesson at least 24 hours in advance, you will receive a makeup pass to reschedule that lesson. Makeup passes and summer cancellations are two separate options.

A makeup pass allows you to reschedule your lesson.
A summer cancellation provides a tuition credit instead of a rescheduled lesson.

Please reach out to our team if you have any questions about scheduling or cancellations, and we’ll be happy to help!

Free Classes this Month

Songwriter Group Share - Sunday, June 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+ and meets on the third Sunday of each month from 3–5pm.

Piano Club - Friday, June 26th

Piano Club will meet on the 4th Friday this month on June 26th. It is a free monthly class led by Jaime Cohen, full of games, music education, and piano fun! This club is a great opportunity for our piano students to build music theory skills, play interactive games like Music Jeopardy, and gain performance experience.

Age Groups

Ages 5–7 - 5:30–6:15pm
Ages 8+ from 6:15–7pm

Jazz Jam - Friday, June 26th

You’re invited to the Sunburst Jazz Jam Session for ages 14–adults! Whether you’re a total beginner, an experienced pro, or a music lover who just wants to listen, this space is for everyone to have fun, grow, and connect through music. This group will meet every 4th Friday from 7–9pm.

If you'd like to play, please review our provided list of jazz standards. Anyone is welcome to join in, but we ask that those taking the stage familiarize themselves with at least one tune from the list.

What to Prepare

At least one song from this list

School Closure Reminder

Sunburst will be closed on Friday, June 19, for Juneteenth and July 4-5 for the Fourth of July Weekend. 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.