Sunburst News - May 2025

May 1, 2025

May 2025 - Issue #93

IN THIS ISSUE:

Summer Recital Reminder 🎤
Band Showcase 🥁
Free Classes 🎹
Summer Policy ☀️
School Closure Reminder 🗓

IMPORTANT DATES:

Memorial Day Closure - 5/26
Sunburst Band Showcase - 6/1
Summer Recitals - 6/6, 6/7, 6/8, 6/13, 6/14
Adult Band Showcase - 6/12
Juneteenth - 6/19

Summer Recital Sign Ups Open

Signups are open for our Summer Recitals taking place in the first two weeks of June at HAVEN and Sunburst! We encourage any and all students to perform. Even if you've just started on your instrument, it's never too early to get some experience on stage! Talk to your instructor about performing and sign up using your Opus account below.

Upcoming Student Performances

The months of May and June are full of student performances! Here’s a not-quite-exhaustive list of upcoming events where you can see Sunburst students and staff perform:

May 9 & 16 – Green Roots Sustainability Fairs at ECS: Sunburst student bands performing
May 10 – Squirrel Hill Wine Walk at Sunburst
May 31 – Adult Band Night at Sunburst, featuring our Sunburst Band Program 18+ groups
June 1 – Sunburst Band Program Summer Showcase: all kids’ band program groups playing outdoors at Flagstaff Hill
June 3 – Colfax Carnival, featuring Sunburst Band Program groups
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!

Free Monthly Classes!

Music Producers Meet-Up

May 9th | Every 2nd Friday

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

May 16th | Every 3rd Friday

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

May 23rd | Every 4th Friday

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

May 24th

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

May 25th | 3–5PM

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

Adults 18+

Spotlight on You!

Sign up for a photo/video feature!

We love showcasing our amazing students and are hoping to do more of that this year! If you're interested in being featured in a photo or video during your lesson, let us know! This could be a short clip of a song or exercise you're working on, or just a couple of photos.

Complete the form below to opt in!

Opt In

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 Memorial Day, May 26. 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 Memorial Day!

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 - 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.