Cynthia Marie Dillard is a pianist, songwriter, & teacher with a background in classical, jazz, blues, and folk music.  She is a Honolulu Symphony Best and Brightest concerto competition winner, Berklee College of Music summer performance program songwriter showcase winner, and a graduate of the University of Washington School of Music in Seattle, WA with a Bachelor of Arts in Music.  She studied classical piano with Bonnie Litten and Ann Tanabe, boogie-woogie piano with Caroline Dahl, and jazz piano with Debbie Poryes. 

She is a recipient of the Maryland State Arts Council Independent Artist Award, Jackstraw Artist-in-Residency, and Seattle Mayor’s Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs’ Smart Ventures grant. She has produced two full-length albums and an EP of original music, and was a commissioned composer for Gamelan Pacifica and Washington Women in Jazz Festival. Her music has been performed on a variety of radio programs including WERA.FM, Voices from the DMV, FEMchord, DC Music Rocks, Takoma Radio, Hometown Sounds, and NPR'S WAMU Bandwidth. She is a regular performer at the Takoma Park Folk Festival’s Crossroads Stage, sponsored by Strathmore.  She is member of ASCAP. 

As a collaborator, she appears as pianist and/or vocalist, songwriter, or producer on a discography of over 19 recordings with artists from coast to coast such as Jason Masi, Jenny Terry, Elena & Los Fulanos, Jahnel Daliya, Summer Januaries, & Steve Olof Larson.  As an arranger, she has published over 35 sheet music arrangements sold internationally on Sheet Music Plus, and she is the author of a new piano primer, Piano Studio with Cynthia Marie. 

She has performed her songs in Seattle, DC, Boston, NYC, Philadelphia, Raleigh-Durham, NC, throughout Maryland, Virginia, and in Breschia, Italy.  She resides in Maryland, where she enjoys teaching piano to her students at Mike’s Music in Ellicott City, MD, music students at Holy Child and students at her Columbia Piano Studio.  She is a Maryland state certified teacher, and a member of the Music Teachers National Association, Maryland MTA, and Howard County MTA.

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SHOWS

Previous events

Date Event Location
Private Event Washington D.C. Washington D.C.
Washington Women in Jazz Festival Alexandria, VA Alexandria, VA
Glen Echo Dance Glen Echo, MD Glen Echo, MD
Christmas Eve jazz trio Arlington, VA Arlington, VA
Jenny Terry @ Christmas Market Mt. Airy, MD Mt. Airy, MD
Key Women: hosted by Ben Tufts and Friends Jammin Java, Fairfax, VA Jammin Java, Fairfax, VA
Foggy Bottom Whompstompers Adams Morgan Porchfest, Washington D.C. Adams Morgan Porchfest, Washington D.C.
 —  — Cynthia Marie & Sway (duo) Pearl Street Stage at DC Wharf, Washington D.C. Pearl Street Stage at DC Wharf, Washington D.C.
 —  — Cynthia Marie & Sway (trio) Little Market Cafe, Ellicott City, MD 21043 Little Market Cafe, Ellicott City, MD 21043
Foggy Bottom Whompstompers - private event Glen Echo, MD Glen Echo, MD
 —  — Foggy Bottom Whompstompers - private event Washington D.C. Washington D.C.
 —  — Cynthia Marie & Sway (duo) The Wharf, Washington D.C. The Wharf, Washington D.C.
 —  — Jenny Terry @ Fall Fest Mt. Airy, MD Mt. Airy, MD
 —  — Happy Hour sunset paddle Keybridge Boathouse Keybridge Boathouse
 —  — Glen Echo Contra-Dance Glen Echo, MD Glen Echo, MD
 —  — Cynthia Marie - private event Silver Spring, MD Silver Spring, MD
Jason Masi - private event Orange, VA Orange, VA
SoFar Sounds show Washington D.C. Washington D.C.
 —  — Cynthia Marie @ Takoma Porch Festival Takoma Porch Festival , Takoma Park, MD Takoma Porch Festival , Takoma Park, MD
Jazz Girls Day WWJF Alexandria, VA Alexandria, VA

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