Cynthia Van Maanen, D.M.A.

About Cynthia

Dr. Cynthia Van Maanen’s compositions have been performed by professional musicians, faculty members, and students from around the country. In June of 2024 her trombone choir piece "Three Gossips" was premiered at the International Trombone Festival. In March of 2024 her work "Mercury: bringing dualities into harmony" was premiered by the Toledo Symphony Orchestra as part of the larger work ...of the spheres... with each movement composed by nine different composers.

Current projects include a band piece for a consortium of schools; a work for PBS online; and a flute, saxophone, and piano trio. Van Maanen's latest inclusion on the album "BE MUSIC" was released this past year. She is also published in Oxford University Press as part of The Music Handbook of Composition Pedagogy.

Her 2023 sabbatical and residency with the San Francisco Conservatory TACS program allowed her to focus on chamber music with electronics and provide time for both composition and teaching with that institution.

Van Maanen’s music is focused on communicating with the audience through emotion. Music is such a beautiful way of expressing the human experience and letting it provide an outlet for us in whatever circumstance(s) we are living through—from the most joyful to the most profoundly life changing moments. You can find more information by visiting adjectivenewmusic.com or cynthiavanmaanen.com.

Van Maanen teaches composition and theory for Interlochen Arts Academy. She also teaches for the Boston Conservatory High School Composition Intensive (HSCI). She is a member of ASCAP and is on the composition council for NAfME.

Van Maanen’s music is focused on communicating with the audience through emotion. Music is such a beautiful way of expressing the human experience and letting it provide an outlet for us in whatever circumstance(s) we are living through—from the most joyful to the most profoundly life changing moments. My goal is to help students find their way of expressing themselves as an artist.