Charlie Dennard is an extra-ordinary keyboardist who is currently on tour with Cirque du Soleil’s world-renowned production “Alegria”. A native of the South-Eastern United States, Charlie studied jazz piano with Ellis Marsalis at the University of New Orleans where he graduated in 1998 with a Masters Degree in Music. In addition to performing and recording internationally over the last decade, Charlie is also an avid composer, teacher and an aspiring musicologist.

Before joining Cirque du Soleil in 2002, Charlie was an integral part of several prominent bands from New Orleans such as Quintology, New World Funk Ensemble, Theresa Andersson Group, and (Stanton Moore’s) Moore and More. Dennard has also made special guest appearances with artists Charlie Hunter, G. Love and Special Sauce, Galactic, George Porter (The Meters), Michael Ray and the Cosmic Krewe, Skerik (Critters Buggin) and the Kermit Ruffins Big Band to name a few. Charlie was even fortunate enough to play a song with Paul McCartney at the Windsor Court Hotel in New Orleans where Dennard performed regularly from 1998 - 2002. Recording credits alongside Charles and Ian Neville (Neville Brothers), Birmingham Metropolitan Orchestra, Steve Masakowski (Astral Project), Stanton Moore, Oteil Burbridge (Allman Brothers), Cleve Eaton (Ramsey Lewis, Count Basie), and Russell Batiste (Funky Meters) have also enabled Dennard’s studio session work to become recognized as exemplary as well.

Charlie was an adjunct faculty member of both Delgado Community College and the University of New Orleans from 1998-2002 where he taught private and class piano, small group ensembles, music technology, and music business courses. All of this is in addition to Charlie’s own solo career and projects as a bandleader with his own organ based trio called 5 O’Clock Charlie. Dennard produced his first all original album entitled “The Lookout” in 1996 featuring his 5 O’Clock Charlie group. Earlier in 1992 Charlie earned a Bachelors Degree in Music from the University of Miami as a music media and industry major. In addition to studying music publishing, distribution, and copyright law with Alfred Reed at U.M. Charlie was also a piano student of both Doug Bickel and Jeff Laibson.