The Music School

The Music School offers group experiences, private lessons, ensemble participation, theater, camps, preschool programs, choral festivals and concerts, musical theater productions, student recitals, and community performances. Classes and lessons use listening, singing, rhythmic activities, instrumental instruction, games, and music theory, and include options such as Teddy Bear Concert, Music and Art Around the World, Music and Art Camp, Young Musician Violin classes, Kaleidoscope classes, specialized workshops for both kids and adults, and organ lessons.

• Ages: 1–18 years old
• Schedule: Most classes and lessons meet once a week; regular terms and summer options follow set registration periods, and private lessons enrollment is open year-round, pending availability

The Music School is a non-profit with open enrollment and scholarship assistance available, and it is a mission outreach of Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church. Class curricula are especially designed for each level with age-appropriate and innovative learning materials, with a logical progression of study as students continue through courses. Preschool classes are built on activities including singing, playing, listening, rhythms, and creative movement, while school-age classes include both large and small group activities and individual projects, and adult classes welcome students of all levels with no previous experience required. Most class students, whether majoring in piano or not, learn basic piano skills and use Just Playing, the basic music-reading method used by the whole school, and students study a variety of repertoire pieces including classical, folk, and fun music.

The Music School has been teaching children and adults since 1977, when founder Doris Harry and a small group of music educators created the school, and today it has an enrollment of over 500 students throughout the year, including students ranging in age from 12 months to well over 80 years old. Leadership includes Director Chantelle Urbina and Founder Doris Harry. The faculty is made up of highly qualified music educators with extensive teaching and performing experience and degrees that range from bachelor’s to doctoral degrees, and they offer a comprehensive, hands-on approach to musical growth and experiences that includes listening, singing, rhythmic activities, instrumental instruction, games, and music theory. Music School alumni are making music from coast to coast as professionals and amateurs in orchestras, choirs, operas, and musicals on and off Broadway, and as educators, choir directors, band teachers, and accompanists.

Most classes and lessons meet once a week without regular in-class parent participation, and parents are invited for periodic class visits and performances and participate with productions, fundraisers, and special events. The Music School offers priority registration and open registration periods, a Summer Selection with options for a multitude of experiences to fit busy summer schedules, and private lessons enrollment that is open year-round, pending availability. The Bobbi Rupp Memorial Senior Scholarship is granted to all students age 65 and older with no application required, and all proceeds from the Teddy Bear Concert go to a scholarship fund in Jan Williams’ memory. The Music School has taught thirteen children in a twelve-week pilot program and has office hours Monday–Friday from 2:00–7:30 pm, with priority registration for the 2026–2027 Regular Term and Summer 2026 beginning February 2nd, open registration beginning March 3rd, class and private lesson selection by appointment from June 8–August 28, and registration for the 2025–2026 Regular Term open pending availability. A Music School family described it by saying, “We love this school. There are a lot places where you can get piano lessons or other instruction, but THIS SCHOOL HAS HEART!” and the school notes that 50th Anniversary Celebrations will begin in 2027.

Last updated March 23, 2026.