Home » Member Page

Anna Dagmar

NYC-based singer-songwriter and jazz pianist

About Me

Her love of words was born at a tiny desk, in a tiny room, just north of London. St. Albans' Cathedral choir, father's classical radio, and mother's lullabyes echoed all around. And at age seven, one never forgets sitting on the steps of a new home in Massachusetts, on lookout, for the piano delivery truck.

Anna Dagmar's songs have an uncommon sense of patience, tenderness and depth in both the lyrics and music. Her first album, One More Time in the Air, grew from a diary written on a ship in Alaska. She orchestrated and recorded the songs in 2001 at the tail end of her studies at the Eastman School of Music. This CD, which was released shortly before she moved to NYC, would opened many doors, beginning with performances at The Bitter End, The Knitting Factory, and Battery Park.

Inspired by singing lessons with Theo Bleckmann, Dagmar created a new album, Solo Songs, in 2004. While her pure and gentle voice delivers the message of each song, rich accompaniments and improvisation also offer a glimpse of her pianistic virtuosity. The album's peaceful ballad, “We're Alright Now,” garnered an award from the Unisong International Competition as well as a publishing partnership with Gold Guitars Music. Dagmar also celebrated the release of Solo Songs in a homecoming concert at London's Borderline UK.

She has returned to full ensemble arrangements on her latest collaboration with producer Ben Wittman (Jonatha Brooke and The Story, Patty Larkin, Lucy Kaplansky). The new Anna Dagmar EP also features soundscape guitarist Marc Shulman (Suzanne Vega), vocalist Theo Bleckmann, and acoustic string and woodwind textures. The songs range from an upbeat tale of a Brooklyn greasy-spoon, to a hopeful soldier's folklike durge. A detailed interview on this collection can be found in the April 2006 edition of Chorus and Verse Magazine.

Dagmar performs frequently in NYC at venues including Cornelia Street Cafe, Rockwood Music Hall, Brooklyn Conservatory, Brooklyn Academy of Music and Mo Pitkins. Tour dates have also included Boston, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Berlin, London, and Manchester. In addition to song writing, she has been studying the art of Indo-classical improvisation with the Rajaf Quartet. The group recently performed ragas for the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Dagmar can also be heard on song writer Nadine Goellner's new live CD (2006), and on cellist Martha Colby's album Across Two Rivers (2005). Other collaborations include contemporary duets with pianist Emily Manzo, and accompanying for mezzo- soprano Rebecca Comerford. While new musical projects continue to expand and develop in Dagmar's life, her own songs hold centerstage. Simply put by Amy Lotsberg of Collected Sounds, “I can't even think of a strong comparison to Dagmar. She's an original.”