CYNTHIA HILTS

Born in Tucson, Cynthia Hilts grew up in a musical family. Her father, a doctor, played boogie-woogie piano. Her mother, an activist and volunteer teacher, played classical music and was a Broadway aficionado who directed community musicals. One of Cynthia’s sisters was on track to become a symphonic bassist but became a doctor like her old man instead. “When I was first learning to speak, I actually sang everything,” says Hilts, the youngest of five children. She started playing music at the age of two, studied classical from the age of five, and began composing at 12. She was active in the school choir, both singing and accompanying, and gradually took up a full range of styles including folk, rock, blues, and show tunes. Though she was already an avid jazz listener, playing jazz piano caught up with her later. Hilts graduated from high school at 16. One of her first extended read more...