“I remember really enjoying her voice, and just her ability to merge Jazz, Blues, Folk, Pop - all those elements seem to be brought together in her music." "She really does a great job .. (Oh, Legs!) is a fun, fun song. Each of the songs is different. I love what she does with the creation of these tracks.”
— DC Music Rocks, Aaron Tinjum & Brian Nelson-Palmer
Bio
A seasoned pianist with a love for improvisation, Cynthia Marie is passionate to create. From jazz & blues to folk, pop, and original works, her eclectic songs dance with ease and emotion. Her latest single “Mr. Wah” is created on her Yamaha MOXFX6 with a symphony of synths dancing around a simple message, to get out there and try something new today.
Her latest full-length album “Harbor" has been featured on WERA.FM, Voices from the DMV, FEMchord, DC Music Rocks, Takoma Radio, Hometown Sounds, and WAMU Bandwidth.
She is a recipient of the Maryland State Arts Council Independent Artist Award and has performed at favorite DMV venues such as: Pearl Street Warehouse, Jammin’ Java, Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, and Black Cat.
She resides in Maryland, where she enjoys teaching piano to her students at Mike’s Music in Ellicott City and at her Columbia Piano Studio. She loves introducing an eclectic repertoire to her students ages 5 to adult, including jazz improvisation, blues, classical gems, and pop songs.
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Cynthia Marie Dillard is a pianist, songwriter, & teacher. She grew up playing classical piano, studying with Bonnie Litten and later, Ann Tanabe, who guided her to win the Honolulu Symphony’s Best & Brightest Concerto competition at age 17. In addition to classical repertoire, she enjoyed listening to the blues-influenced rockin’ piano playing of Jerry Lee Lewis, jazz saxophone, and all the soulful hits of the 90's.
She began songwriting in high school and continued at UW School of Music in Seattle. In college she sang in the vocal jazz choir and started experimenting with jazz improvisation, accompanying fellow singers and instrumentalists on piano. She also won a spot in an eclectic songwriter's showcase at Berklee in Boston one summer, with artists from around the country and abroad. Soon after she began playing out her original music in Seattle coffeehouses and gigging around town with local musicians at an array of popular venues such as Egan's Ballard Jamhouse, Conor Byrne's, Gallery 1412, and Chapel Performance Space.
As a collaborator, she appears on over 19 recordings with artists from coast to coast such as Jason Masi, Jahnel Daliya, Elena & Los Fulanos, Jenny Terry, Summer Januaries, and Steve Olaf Larson. She has published over 35 sheet music arrangements sold internationally on Sheet Music Plus, and a new primer level piano book "Piano Studio" with Cynthia Marie.