Marlysse Simmons is a renowned jazz pianist who performs and composes with the nationally known  salsa band Bio Ritmo based in Richmond, Va.  A graduate of the University of Maryland in Classical Piano Performance, Marlysse turned her focus to jazz and received a Masters in Composition from Brooklyn College in NYC where she studied with multi-Grammy award winning pianist Arturo O'Farrill.  She also performs and composes with Miramar, a six piece ensemble that performs Latin American ballads at festivals in the United States and Europe.

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Marlysse has composed commissioned big-band arrangements for Arturo O’Farrill’s Afro-Latin Jazz Big Band based in New York City, original string quartets for the Richmond, VA Rosette String Quartet, and Symphony arrangements for Bio Ritmo and The Richmond Symphony.  She currently is an adjunct professor at VCU's Jazz Music School where she teaches Small Jazz Ensemble classes, and is Musical Director for a Fall 2022 musical  at the University of Richmond.   

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A member of the Richmond and Virginia Teachers Associations, Marlysse has been teaching private piano lessons for over 20 years.  She teaches traditional classical piano method plus the study of theory and the encouragement of improvisation and composition. For those students who are interested she can guide them in learning more about church, jazz , theater and modern music.  Her focus as a teacher is in fostering a positive and creative learning environment, enabling her students to understand music theory, and to make the most of their at home practice sessions, while working with a diverse repertoire that inspires each student.  Marlysse teaches students ages 8+, who have preferably had some previous piano experience.