Susan E. Cunningham passed away on September 3rd at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston after a long illness.
She was 58.
A classically trained violinist, she played in the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra, but then turned her focus to her love of Bluegrass music. She wrote and performed songs with her brothers Tom and Steve, as The Flying Cunninghams.
She was also a member of the South Ocean String Band and White Sands Panhandle Band in Florida; The Hickory Project, which toured the US, Australia, Ireland and Europe; and most recently the Rowan Cunningham Band, and the Sue Cunningham Band in PA.
For 14 years she produced an annual, nationally recognized music festival in Wellsboro, PA with performances from world-class musicians, singers and songwriters.
Along with Frank Serio and Verlon Thompson of Nashville, she wrote and produced an original, poignant musical production about a woman who lives through the Civil War.
She was a three-time Florida Bluegrass Fiddle champion, and performed with Vassar Clements and many other famed musicians.
Sue had a passion for helping others in the music world and taught many young violin students, and conducted fiddle workshops at Bluegrass venues around the country.
A Memorial and Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, September 19, 2015, at noon, at The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, 400 Seabrook Road, Tequesta, FL 33469. Additional musical Celebrations of Sue's life will also be held in Wellsboro, PA, on Sunday, October 4, 2015, from noon to 6 p.m. at the Stony Fork Creek Campground; and in Pittsburgh, PA, and in Florida, with dates to be announced.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Dreyfoos School of the Arts Foundation where the Sue Cunningham Memorial Music Scholarship has been established. Donations may be made online at soafi.org/donate or mailed to the School of the Arts Foundation, P.O. Box 552, West Palm Beach, FL 33402. If donating by check, please designate to the "Sue Cunningham Scholarship."
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