“Our 7-year old started with Ms. Choi with violin when he was 4, but when he heard Choi perform on her cello at a recital, he insisted on switching - and has never looked back. Now, he’s almost done with Suzuki book 2, and I’m continually impressed with his progress on the cello. Choi’s a great teacher - warm, but firm and keeps him focused. His 5-year old sister started violin at Sunnyside about 1 1/2 years ago too - her current teacher, Jessica, is great with kids and really keeps her engaged and motivated to practice! We are also big fans of Sunnyside’s pop-up and summer camp options. The kids do creative craft projects, play with legos, practice instruments, go to the park - and in the summer, my son even got to play in the rock band! They are our “go-to” for all school holidays when we have to work. The programming is much more engaging than other pop-up camps we’ve tried. The kids always come home with a cool craft and they learned something!”

“Check out this hidden art germ Afterschool-Sunnyside String School Art Class inspired by pop-art star Jeff Koons available to youngsters in Sunnyside, they are so fortunate!”

“Choi Fairbanks is an amazing violin instructor! Choi is skilled at engaging a small child and making the violin lessons so much fun through music education & play. My son gets more than a violin lesson when he meets with Choi. That is, his fine motor skills, attention span and ability to distinguish sounds has greatly improved. My son is only 3.5 years old and he always looks forward to his violin lessons!”

“Our 6 year old son has been taking piano with Ms. Choi for two years. The teacher is patient and knows how to work with children. Right now he is making up his own songs to learn the notes! Highly recommended”

“My daughter has been attending Sunnyside String School since kindergarten. She loves the art there which ranges the gamet from creating artwork based on weaving, creating robots from recycled materials to Jeff Koons inspired crafts. In addition to that they have music, lego and theater. The teachers including ms. Choi teach the kids so well. In addition they also provide after school care where the children can do homework, before their specialty. It’s a real boon to the neighborhood!”

“If you take a violin, you can make it sound 50 different ways. Not just pizzicato and played by the bow, but ponticello, and harmonics, and tremolos. If you take an oboe and play it, there’s about one way you can make it sound: like an oboe”

“Actively learning to play an instrument can help a child’s academic achievement... the study showed that students who played instruments in class had more improved neural processing than the children who attended the music appreciation group.”... “We like to say that ‘making music matters,’” said Kraus. “Because it is only through the active generation and manipulation of sound that music can rewire the brain. ”
— TIME”