Sunnyhill Live! is our monthly arts series that features the best in live music, film and theater in a casual, comfortable, and intimate setting. For details about upcoming performances and more information, please visit Sunnyhill Events, or the Sunnyhill Live! Facebook page.

Mission Statement
The goal of Sunnyhill Live! is the enhancement of congregational life at the Unitarian Universalist Church of the South Hills through the presentation of diverse, high quality cultural arts performances.

Objectives

• To encourage fellowship for church members and community by providing a non-smoking, family-friendly cultural arts environment;
• To enhance the visibility and presence of the church in the community;
• To create a financially successful operation whose proceeds will be used to support the mission of the church.

Volunteers

If you are interested in volunteering or have a contact for a potential artist(s), please contact sunnyhillpresents@sunnyhill.org. We welcome any member or friend, with a passion for the arts, who would be interested in talent acquisition, promotions, and event production. Tickets for upcoming events are managed through Brown Paper Tickets.

Committee Members

• John Armstrong
• Harold Behar
• Janie Elliott
• Will Page
• Megan Stanis
• Jay Thornton

Sunnyhill Live! 2022-2023 Season

Michael Griska Performs Nov. 18

Michael Griska performs and teaches North Indian Classical Music, better known as Hindustani Music, on the sitar and surbahar. He is a disciple of world-renowned sarod player Pandit K. Sridhar.  Michael has traveled in and out of the U.S.A. studying, performing, and accompanying his Guruji, Pandit K. Sridhar.

Some of his experiences include playing the tanpura and keeping tala for his Guruji at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. and at the 2012 Stockholm Sangeet Conference in Stockholm, Sweden performing sitar and surbahar at K. Sridhar concerts in various cities in North Carolina  performing sitar and surbahar at numerous house concerts and temples in India, Israel, Denmark, France, Sweden, and U.K.  performing for Indian weddings at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and William Penn Omni in Pittsburgh PA, at Duke University in Durham NC, and in the Biltmore House in Asheville NC.

Tickets can be purchased in advance through Brown Paper Tickets: https://bpt.me/5622000 . Adults $15. Students (K-12) $10. Tickets purchased at the concert are $20/$15 (credit card processing fees will apply). Doors open at 7:00 p.m. Light refreshments can be purchased before the show and during intermission. Please bring a mask, should it be required. If you forget a mask, complimentary masks will be available for concertgoers.

Upcoming concerts: Daphne Alderson “Peace on Earth” (Dec 16); Academy Quartet “Deep Roots” (Feb 17); Todo Tango with singer Ada Lis Jimena (Mar 24); Paul Thompson Jazz Quartet (Apr 28); and Trio con Brio, the Mead/Cardenes family, featuring violin, harp, and piano (May 26).

Sunnyhill Live! 2018-2019 Season

September 10, 2018. Gaelynn Lea- Album Release Tour

November 16, 2018. Diamante Trio with Lili Abreu

December 1, 2018. Christopher Mark Jones and the Roots Ensemble

January 22, 2019. Clarion Quartet

March 11, 2019. Pittsburgh Chamber Players

March 30, 2019. Pittsburgh Singer/Songwriter Collaboration- Christopher Mark Jones, Brad Yoder, Heather  Kropf, and Ben Shannon

May 4, 2019. Buffalo Run Band

Buffalo Run was the name of the valley where Rob Smith settled in Garrett County Maryland in 1975, and became the title of the Smith & Roberts album released in 1980 featuring Smith and Keith Roberts performing their original material. A second album of Smith & Roberts originals, “By Accident,” was released in 2005 in a CD format. The first version of the Buffalo Run Band was formed in the mid-1980s and a second bluegrass version followed in the 1990s, Smith said. Smith retired from his building inspector job with Garrett County government in 2014, and has been making music since.

Buffalo Run members are pictured from left: Mike Hall, Rob Smith, Keith Roberts, Bob Shank, and Hank Schwartz.

2017-18 Season

October 6, 2017. Spuyten Duyvil. “Infused with blues, smoked in folk,” Spuyten Duyvil brings acclaimed American roots music and infectious energy to Mt. Lebanon!

November 18, 2017. Art+Jazz. Featuring a wonderful arts mashup. Presenting the gallery show for Bob Willis Photography,

December 16, 2017. The Jazz Conspiracy- Pittsburgh’s most entertaining and authentic big band. The Jazz Conspiracy is a 16-piece ensemble, with vocalist, dedicated to capturing the sound and spirit of the American big

January 19, 2018. An Evening with Chaplin- Join musicians, Tom Roberts & Mary Beth Malak, as they provide an original and authentic musical performance as accompaniment to some of Charlie Chaplin’s most enduring silent films.

March 2-4, 2018.Love Letters– A.R. Gurney’s Love Letters is an enduring romance about first loves and second chances. Come see Heidi Smith and Cotter Smith (currently appearing in the Nexflix production Mindhunter) bring this exquisite production to the Sunnyhill Live! stage.