An avid doodler, Cynthia worked as a cartoonist for the Juilliard Journal and received a Special Award for Cartoons in 2005. In 2014, she began a music-themed stationery business at www.etsy.com/shop/CynthiaComposingShop.
In 2019, Cynthia began teaching herself animation. During the pandemic, she focused on animating music notation, from handwritten sketches to typeset musical scores. She began with 2D animation (Fates & Furies), before switching to 3D animation, such asIn A Blink of An Eye — a 2-minute work with a surprise at the end!
In 2022, she was invited back to work with ROCO Chamber Orchestra, this time as an animation artist. Commissioned and world premiered by ROCO in September 2023, Tectonal — a 15-16-minute piece based on Lois Stark’s acclaimed book The Telling Image — takes the audience on a journey of human evolution.
For Tectonal, Cynthia created visuals, collaborating with Emmy Award winning composer Anthony DiLorenzo. She threw herself into months of grit and experimentation, learning AI (artificial intelligence) on the fly.
Among the art / video / animation programs used in Tectonal are: