Cynthia Folio is Associate Professor and chair of music theory at Temple University (since 1990).

She teaches theory courses at all levels: from entry-level Introduction to Music Theory and Literature, to a Doctoral Seminar in Analysis and Performance. She also advises masters students who major in music theory and is chair of the music theory department. In the spring 1996 semester, she was awarded the Lindback Foundation Award for Distinguished Teaching. Before her Temple days, she taught theory and flute at Texas Christian University (1980-1990) and played piccolo and flute in the Fort Worth Symphony, Opera, and Ballet Orchestras.

Born on Dec. 24, 1954 in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, Cynthia was an army brat and did not stay in one place for very long. Her many travels include three years in Germany, three years in Panama, and many spots in between. Her most rigorous musical training as a child was in Panama (1964-7), where she studied flute with Eduardo Charpentier (flutist in the Panama Symphony) and solfege at the Panama Conservatory.

Cynthia earned an M.A. (1979) and Ph.D. (1985) in music theory and a Performers Certificate in flute (1979) from the Eastman School of Music. Her undergraduate school, West Chester University, granted her a Distinguished Alumni Award (1989). She studied theory and composition with Joseph Schwantner, Robert Morris, and Larry Nelson and flute with Bonita Boyd and Emily Swartley Newbold. Other awards include a National Endowment for the Humanities grant, composer residency at the Yaddo Artist Colony and at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, eleven consecutive ASCAP Standard Awards, winner in the 1994 and 1999 New Music Delaware Competitions, winning entry in the National Flute Association Newly Published Music Competition, and grants from Meet the Composer. She has received commissions from the Mendelssohn Club, Relache, Network for New Music and Hildegard Chamber players (jointly),Pi Kappa Lambda, SAI, and others (link to compositions). She has published music theory articles and reviews in many journals (link to articles and reviews) and she serves on the editorial board of Music Theory Spectrum and ex tempore. As a flutist, she performs regularly as a soloist and in several groups in the Philadelphia area (link to upcoming performances), including Network for New Music, Hildegard Chamber Players, and the Temple Faculty New Music Trio (with Jeffrey Solow and Charles Abramovic). She was recently invited to Tübingen, Germany to perform in CAMP '99 (Creative Arts and Music Pool), an international festival for free improvisation. In spring 2001, she was a guest composer at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Festival of Women Composers. As a theorist, composer, and performer, her main interests include analysis and performance of contemporary music, analysis of jazz, and the relationship between analysis and performance.