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About Us
Our mission is to empower mothers and families experiencing birth trauma and loss in Pittsburgh through collaborative songwriting.
Lullaby Project Pittsburgh is one of many offshoots of the larger Lullaby Project network. We are a partner of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute. Launched in September 2022 at Carnegie Mellon University, we are proud to be a fiscally sponsored project of New Sun Rising.
Our team of professional teaching artists work with families to write personal lullabies that speak to their hopes, fears and dreams of parenthood. Lullabies can be songs to soothe a newborn to sleep, adventure songs to sing as they get ready for the day, a song of remembrance for their child, or anything in-between.
In our programming, we emphasize safety, belonging and community. Our songwriting sessions are easily adapted to fit the group we’re working with, and we hold multiple “Celebration Concerts” throughout the year. These events are an opportunity for participants to share their songs with each other, their friends, and their families.
Our model involves three points of focus:
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Trauma-Informed Care for women who have experienced birth trauma
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Lullabies for Loss, working with families who have lost a child
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Family and Youth Music Education
Click here to learn more about participating in a Lullaby Project session.
Our Story
2012
Lullaby Project originated in New York City through Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute.
2020
Lullaby Project Pittsburgh co-founder Claire Gunsbury participated in Colorado Lullaby Project’s online songwriting sessions through the University of Colorado Boulder.
2022
August
The Pittsburgh chapter of Lullaby Project was created as a course through the College of Music. It was co-created and taught by Dr. Valeria J. Martinez and Monique Mead.
November
Now known as Lullaby Project Pittsburgh, the student musicians at CMU held their first in-person songwriting session and Celebration Concert in Shadyside.
2023
January - May
Lullaby Project Pittsburgh continued as a course at CMU, and hosted two more full sessions in partnership with Dr. Tracey Vogel at AHN.
June - October
Now led by Claire Gunsbury and Sean Andres, Lullaby Project Pittsburgh became a community project. We developed a partnership with the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh and worked with the Pittsburgh Palliative Care Coalition and University of Pittsburgh for the Visualizing Loss project.
2024
September
Became fiscally sponsored by the Pittsburgh-based organization New Sun Rising.
November
Established partnerships with six major arts organizations in Pittsburgh and have created nearly forty songs and counting!
2025
Hosted songwriting sessions in collaboration with the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh and the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.
2026
January
Launched the "Collaborative Songwriting for Connection and Social Care" course at Carnegie Mellon University.
May
Celebrated the fifty song mark with the release of "Rivers of Light," Lullaby Project Pittsburgh's inaugural album.
