A master of clarinets of all shapes and sizes, clarinetist Sunshine Simmons has held orchestra positions with the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, the Oregon Ballet Theatre, the Illinois Philharmonic, and the Quad City Symphony Orchestra.  She has also performed with the Chicago Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Grant Park Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Santa Fe Opera, and Chicago Opera Theater.

As a chamber musician Sunshine has enjoyed working with the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, International Chamber Artists, and the Millennium Chamber Players.  Likewise, her enthusiasm for bass clarinet repertoire has lead her to numerous forays into the world of contemporary music - having performed with groups such as eighth blackbird, Santa Fe New Music, and Chatter.

As a soloist, Sunshine gave the Chicago premier of Alan Shulman’s ‘Rendezvous’ for Clarinet and String Orchestra.  She also performed Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concerto for a live radio broadcast in Cluj, Romania in 2007. Sunshine has also participated in the Aspen Music Festival, the Spoleto Festival - USA, and the Frutillar Music Festival in Chile.  
Over the course of her studies her instructors have included Steve Cohen, J. Lawrie Bloom, Thomas Thompson, and Joaquin Valdepeñas. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Carnegie Mellon University, a Master’s and Doctor of Music degrees from Northwestern University. Currently she is the Clarinet Instructor at Loyola University - Chicago.