• Private Lessons
• Group Classes
• Camps

Program Details

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.” – Plato

Instruction from Professional Gigging musicians

Not only do our teachers have 10+ years experience. They practice what they preach! You can find them at a concert hall near you, or on Spotify!

Interactive Practice Journal

A shared document, stored on the cloud. Clean and organized. You’ll always know what to practice. We'll always know if you did.

Risk Free Registration

When you're first starting out: If you’re not happy with our coaching, we’ll refund any tuition paid for your first two lessons!

Referral Program

Your next lesson is free after someone you refer books a lesson!

Recorded Lessons

(For online lessons only) Keep Video recordings of each session. You can review these forever!

Fair Cancelation Policy

Life happens. Cancel your lesson free of charge up to 24 hours in advance.

Flexible Payment Options

You're only charged per lesson you take. No need to pay up front for large packages or memberships(except for group lessons.)

Monthly Lesson Raffle

On the first of each month we will spin the student wheel! Winner gets a free lesson.

Custom Practice Reminders

Let us know when you plan to regularly practice and we’ll send you SMS reminders 5 minutes before, each week.

Biannual Showcases

Perform for your friends family and peers on the first Saturday of June and December.

Repertoire Management

Don’t ever forget songs you worked so hard to learn. You’ll be aided in maintaining a repertoire using our signature kanban board method!

Shared Student-Teacher Playlist

You and your teacher can share inspiration with a shared playlist. Feel free to add what ever songs make you tick!

Custom Lesson Reminders

By default, you’ll receive an email reminder 24 hours before our lesson and an SMS reminder 15 minutes before our lesson. We will customize the timing of these reminders on request. You can opt out at anytime.

Instruments Available

(For In-Studio Lessons Only) You don’t have to bring your instrument, use mine at the studio. Choose from electric, acoustic or classical guitars at my studio.

Quarterly Customer Feedback Surveys

Steer our offerings to your liking. Have the best experience possible. Your opinions and sugggestions are always welcome. However, I’ll be formally asking for them every 3 months.

Monthly Newsletter

On the first of the month you’ll receive a short email newsletter to keep you informed about the school and inspired to play the guitar.

Philanthropy

One percent of Rising Stars’ revenue is donated to a portfolio of carbon sequestration methods.

Our Locations

To work with your schedule and needs.

Make Some Noise

In-Studio

Full access to a music production / teaching studio. Located in Ridgewood NY

Log in

Virtual

Nothing beats the convenience of taking a music lesson in your pajamas! Match that with our hi-fidelity set up and I.T. consultation, and you’re in for a treat.

Be Your Guest

In-Home

We are fully booked for our in-home offerings. We only offer them in Greenwhich CT and Rye NY on Thursdays. Please join our waitlist to be notified about openings.

• Click Here To Join The In-Home Music Lessons Waitlist!

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What Format Interests You?

Philosophy

We are what we do. In other words: Our actions define us.
By deciding to play with sound every day, our identity transforms . We become musicians. We bring life to the world and share it with the people we love.The three pillars of health are mind, body and soul. There is no better way to enrich the soul than through the study of music. Here all ages and all skill levels can pursue musical endeavors of their wildest dreams.

Group Classes

We offer our beginner instrument curriculums to large groups. The social environment is an exciting addition to our usual programming.You can also find early child hood/baby-and-me classes here.

Ages 0 - 3

• Broadway Babies!

Ages 3 - 5

• Melody Quest

Ages 6 - 8

• Rockin' Riffs For Rad Kids

Pick an Area of Focus

• Guitar
• Piano
• Bass
• Ukulele
• Violin
• Voice
• Music Production
• Songwriting
• Early Childhood Development
• Multi-Instrument

Give Us A Call, You Can Text Us Too

• Text
• Call

Otherwise, fill out this form to reach out via email.

PRIVACY POLICY

What to Expect:- Instrument Exploration: Children can try out a variety of instruments—drums, guitars, keyboards, ukuleles, maracas, xylophones, and more. Each session encourages hands-on play to discover the unique sounds and rhythms of each instrument.- Freeform Jamming: With reasonably inviting constraints, kids are invited to join group improvisations or play solo, learning by doing as they ‘jam’ alongside peers and instructors.- Creative Soundplay: Experiment with creating soundscapes using unconventional methods like tapping, scraping, or vocalizing to nurture an adventurous approach to music.- Natural Learning: Instead of formal lessons, children learn through immersion, imitation, and experimentation, just as they would learn a language.- Encouraging Environment: Every sound is part of the creative process. Teachers guide and support children in building confidence through self-discovery.

Welcome to "Broadway Babies!" where young children step into the spotlight and are introduced to the vibrant cultural legacy of New York City through the magic of Broadway and show tunes. In this showy music and movement experience, iconic songs from Broadway’s greatest hits set the stage for play, connection, and creativity. With a focus on fostering early motor, memory, social, and musical development, Broadway Babies invites little ones and their caregivers to sing, dance, play, and celebrate the arts in an interactive, joyful environment. Part musical adventure, part social gathering, this class connects families to NYC’s rich artistic heritage while creating lasting memories and community. Whether you’re a native New Yorker or new to the city’s rhythm, Broadway Babies is your backstage pass to the wonder of Broadway, nurturing the next generation of cultural connoisseurs.Let’s celebrate the little stars who make NYC shine—because the show must always go on! 🌟🎭

Confirming and Canceling and Rescheduling Your Lessons

Booking Your First Lesson Or Consultation

Use our booking page to book your first lesson or consultation!

Canceling Your Lesson

When you first decide on a regular time to meet with a teacher, you will recieve a calendar invite like this:

Unless your doing a one off lesson, the invite is in regards to a weekly lesson. RSVP yes, and congrats you're lessons are officially scheduled for the weeks to come!

However, things come up and sometimes you've gotta cancel your weekly lesson.

Just go to your event in Google Calendar and change your attending status From "yes" to "no."

Once you press, "No" the event will be deleted automatically. Congrats, with just the press of a button you've successfully canceled your lesson.

The google calendar event with your lesson title is the key to many functions here at Rising Stars Music School. If the event still exists 24 hours before your lessons starts, you will be charged. If you ever need to cancel your weekly lesson, no problem, just follow these steps. We hope it helps!

If you don't see our event in your calendar, you may have to change some settings in google calendar. Check for this in particular:

Rescheduling Your Lessons

Once you cancel your lesson, you'll receive an email that prompts you to reschedule using our normal booking link.

Meet Our Teachers

Sean

Catey

Justin

Spencer

Beau

David

Sequoia

Sean McCann

In 2000, during my second-grade music class, we were choosing instruments for the school orchestra. I told my teacher I wanted to play the upright bass. “That’s too big for you,” she declared. I remember thinking—was anyone really that much taller than me, whose gonna play that thing? I ended up going with my second choice, the saxophone. Maybe it had something to do with Bill Clinton, who was famously an avid saxophonist. I wanted to be like the president—can you blame a kid for that?Over the next year, I struggled with practice. I wasn’t really listening to music yet—the beauty of it hadn’t clicked for me. One thing I do remember? Mr. Caputo, the saxophone teacher, proudly had a “Burping Allowed” sign in his classroom and practiced what he preached. When our holiday concert arrived, I faked every note, hoping the kid next to me would play loud enough for both of us. The compliments afterward filled me with quiet guilt—I’d been “lip-syncing” on the saxophone.For years, I told anyone who asked that I wasn’t musically inclined. My uncle bought me a guitar when I graduated from elementary school, but it sat in the closet gathering dust. That changed during a camping trip when I was around 11. A college-aged friend in our group brought his guitar and taught me a few single-string riffs, "Master Of Puppets" was one of them. Something clicked—I liked the way it felt. But I still wasn’t passionate enough to practice when I got home.A few months later, I received my first iTunes gift card. Excited to spend the “cash,” I scrolled through the store and discovered “Sugar, We’re Goin Down,” “Feel Good Inc.,” and “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” (I’m unashamed to still love these songs.) Suddenly, I wasn’t just hearing music—I was moved by it.The same 10 songs played on repeat as I immersed myself in this new world. Maybe I could learn to play them. I dusted off my guitar and tested whether I remembered anything.The rest is history. Playing by myself led to playing with friends. Playing with friends led to starting bands. Starting bands led to writing songs. Writing songs led to performing live. Performing live led to going on the road. Going on the road meant paying for gas, so we sold CDs. Selling CDs led to recording more and more albums. Recording albums led to learning to produce music. Learning to produce led to college for music production. College deepened my understanding of my craft, and I’ve worked professionally in music since graduating in 2015.Whether it’s discovering more about my craft or building bonds with fellow musicians and fans, music has enriched my life in every way. I’m passionate about transferring the lessons I’ve learned along the way to our work and values at Rising Stars Music School.

Catey

Catey Esler is a singer-songwriter, pianist and producer based in Brooklyn, NY. Raised in the suburbs of Chicago, IL, Catey grew up studying classical piano and voice and later attended Berklee College of Music for jazz voice and composition. She is the front-woman of indie-jazz band, Jade Collective, that has toured with and performed alongside Grammy-nominated artist, Becca Stevens. Under her own name, Catey has independently released an EP of her original music in 2018 as well as her debut album, Hall of Mirrors, in March 2022.As a voice and piano teacher, Catey strives to create an environment where students can be confident in their personal authenticity while making sure lessons are productive, fun, and engaging. Catey emphasizes healthy technique and understanding basic music theory so that students can easily dive into any genre. Her strong classical foundation on piano and voice combined with her performance experience in contemporary styles such as jazz, folk, and rock will help students become well-rounded musicians.

Justin

Justin Felton is a Brooklyn born and raised guitarist (and dabbler of other instruments). A seasoned musician, he has had the privilege of touring with renowned bands such as L’Rain and Big Thief, performed across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, and has opened for artists such as Black Midi, Animal Collective, Sharon Van Etten, and more. These experiences have honed his artistic skills and deepened my understanding of the power of music as a universal language. His educational background includes a BFA in Arts and Sciences from Hunter College, with a focus on jazz guitar studies. He has developed a unique, self-taught approach to the instrument, specializing in alternate tunings and extended techniques.

Spencer

Spencer Churchill is an active music performer, teacher, and all around music lover. Starting at the age of 6, Spencer began taking classical violin lessons, embarking on a 12 year journey studying solo violin performance and music theory, playing with several string ensembles, chamber orchestras, and symphonies along the way.As a teenager, Spencer worked in a fiddle and string repair shop, where he got hooked on bluegrass and folk music. Around the same time, he picked up his brother’s guitar and taught himself to play, diving into rock and punk classics. His passion for music eventually led him to tour the West Coast with the indie rock band Rigby in 2022.These days, Spencer splits his time between playing with different bands and jamming with friends on the fiddle and violin. Through teaching, Spencer hopes to share his deep passion and love for music. He finds it incredibly rewarding to pass on his knowledge to new students and to see their growth and the positive impact music has on their lives.

Beau

Beau Croxton is a New York City-born singer/songwriter based in Brooklyn. Beau has played guitar for 24 years and has been a highly active musician in the NYC live music scene since 2012. Beau began guitar classes at the age of 11, taught himself bass and drums and started performing regularly before the age of 14. Beau studied improv and music theory with Medeski, Martin, and Wood at Camp MMW in 2008 & 2010 and was the lead guitarist in John Medeski’s ensemble.Beau is the lead singer and guitarist of the Brooklyn based rock and roll band Damn Jackals. Beau founded Damn Jackals in 2016 and has since composed nearly all the arrangements for the band. The band has toured the USA twice- one tour included a slot at Savannah Stopover Music Festival in 2019 alongside Deerhunter, Lucy Dacus, Faye Webster and more. Beau directed a horn section for the band that has toured & collaborated with David Byrne, St Vincent and LCD Soundsystem. Beau & Damn Jackals have been featured prominently in American Songwriter, Under the Radar Magazine, Earmilk and many other music press outlets.Beau’s approach to teaching is centered around the fact that everyone is capable of being a great guitarist/bassist. Beau celebrates the fun and positivity of every learning moment along the way with an emphasis on kindness in order to make his students feel confident, capable and comfortable.

David

David Collins is a Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, and educator whose work blends experimental textures with jazz-rooted improvisation. A native of Memphis, Collins developed his musical instincts early, playing standards and classic country alongside his grandfather, Aubrey Morris (pianist for rockabilly legend Eddie Bond). His family home quickly became a hub for jam sessions, where he picked up piano, drums, guitar, and bass. By 15, he was performing weekly and reading music in his school’s band program.Collins holds a B.A. in Jazz and Studio Performance from the University of Memphis, where he studied under Tim Goodwin, Sam Shoup, Jack Cooper, and Joe Restivo. His wide-ranging career spans touring, composing, arranging, and education, with accolades including grants from Music Export Memphis, the Urban Arts Commission, and the Memphis Medical District Collaborative. His original compositions and arrangements have been featured in public performances, commissioned works, and studio albums—including two releases added to the Memphis Public Library’s Memphis Sound Connection archive. From 2022 to 2025, Collins hosted 2722, an all original sci-fi/ambient radio show on WYXR 91.7 FM.As a performer, Collins leads the genre-blurring ensembles Frog Squad, Freak Squid, and Stroke Photos, and recently contributed guitar to Deepstaria Enigmatica’s The Eternal Now Is the Heart of a New Tomorrow (ESP-Disk), praised in Downbeat Magazine for its “advanced flow of sensitised improvisation.”In addition to performing, Collins is a dedicated educator with over eight years of experience teaching students of all ages. He taught at Memphis Music Academy and Lausanne Collegiate School before relocating to New York in 2025, where he continues to balance teaching with recording, composing, and live performance.

Sequoia

Sequoia Sellinger is a composer, educator, musician, and collaborative theater artist based in New York City. She has over 9 years of teaching experience in NYC through TADA!, Williamsburg School of Music, Learning through Expanded Arts Programs (Leap), Creative Arts & Music Programs (CMP), and Brooklyn Acting Lab. Sequoia is on the faculty of Purchase College Conservatory of Music where she teaches Classical Composition. Her teaching philosophy is to follow the joy! Her work in community-building echoes in her work as an artist and educator because she believes collaboration is practice for living and allows us to create the world we want to live in (and sing in) together. Sequoia holds an MFA in Musical Theatre Writing from NYU Tisch (ASCAP Max Dreyfus Award & Schubert Scholarship), as well as a Bachelors of Music in Composition from Purchase Conservatory of Music. She also studied composition at Nadia Boulanger’s Conservatoire in Paris. She was a composer in the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop as well as New Dramatists Composer-Librettist Studio. She is a proud member of both the Dramatists Guild and Maestra. Her original musicals include: “Next Year in Connecticut!” (Joe’s Pub, 54 Below, Sold Out Green Room 42 Show, NYU Tisch, AMTP Semi-finalist), “Earth First!” (Macdowell Fellowship, College of the Atlantic, Dartmouth), “Silent Springs” (BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop), and “Impossible Green” (The York Theatre, Musical Theatre Factory), “Gravity of Me Gone” (Ars Nova ANT Fest). Her micro-opera “It’s Noon, Do You Know Where Your House Plants Are?” was premiered by American Opera Projects this past May 2024. Learn more about her at www.sequoiasellinger.com.

FAQ

How Often Should Student's Take Lessons?

Once a week is the recommended frequency for most students. Meeting Bi-weekly lessons are good for those who are on a tighter budget but they are not recommended for beginners. We also prioritize weekly students over bi-weekly students when it comes to scheduling.For students who have loftier goals, meeting twice or three times a week can have incredible results. We can create special pricing packages for students takingn multiple lessons a week.

How Do Cancelations Work?

Once a week is the recommended frequency for most students. Meeting Bi-weekly lessons are good for those who are on a tighter budget but they are not recommended for beginners. We also prioritize weekly students over bi-weekly students when it comes to scheduling.For students who have loftier goals, meeting twice or three times a week can have incredible results. We can create special pricing packages for students takingn multiple lessons a week.

Camps

You may have heard--Rising Stars Music School is running camps this year! It's a songwriting camp with arts and crafts, games, and outdoor play mixed in each day. By the end of the week, the kids will perform the song they wrote!

• Register

Register for Camps

Lesson Menu

Call or Text 914-500-5006 to book your first lesson!Or book your Free school Visit Here