MM & BMus & BMusEd (Indiana University)

Cheryl Dungan Cunningham has performed extensively on the concert stage as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician throughout the United States and Canada.  She has appeared as a soloist with several orchestras, including the Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey and the Greater Trenton Symphony Orchestra. Cheryl is Principal harpist with many orchestras in the Philadelphia area, including the Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Symphony Orchestra, and the Allegro Orchestra Lancaster.  She has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Kimmel Center, the Academy of Music, and Trenton’s War Memorial.

In 1992, with flutist Nicole Lambert and violist James Day, Cheryl established the Southampton Trio, the founding ensemble of the ongoing Southampton Chamber Music Society concert series.  As a member of Les Meslange des Plaisirs; The Fine Companions duo with flutist Amy Shimmin; Duo Adelphi, a flute and harp duo with her sister, Doris Dungan; and  Voix seraphique with keyboardist Kathleen Scheide, she frequently performs a wide variety of chamber music. 

Cheryl may be heard on several recordings, including Echoes of the Dance, Renaissance and English country dance music performed with Amy Shimmin on flute and recorder; Music for the Soul, therapeutic harp music featuring harpists from throughout the United States; Music for the Soulstice: Millennium, a compilation of winter and Christmas music by 21 different harpists; and Harp Ornaments, a collection of Christmas music performed by Philadelphia area harpists.

Equally active as a pedagogue and author, Cheryl maintains a busy private teaching studio and is an Affiliate Artist at Cairn University.  She was a contributing author to the American String Teacher’s Association publication, A Harp in the School: A Guide for School Ensemble Directors, and her articles about the harp have been published in The Harp Column Magazine, American String Teacher, The American Harp Journal, and AHS Teachers Forum.  She has served as a judge for the Young Artist’s Harp Competition, an international competition for young harpists, and the Weiger Lepke-Sims Family Sacred Music Award.

In June 2024, Cheryl received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Harp Society, which she has served nationally in many capacities: as President, Chairman of the Board, First Vice President, and Co-Chair of the 2004 and 2024 AHS National Conferences.  In addition, she continues to serve as the longtime Treasurer of the Philadelphia Chapter of the AHS.  

Cheryl earned Master of Music in Harp, Bachelor of Music Education, and Bachelor of Music in Harp degrees with High Distinction from Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, where she studied with Susann McDonald and Peter E. Eagle.