Zachary Wilson

Biography

Zach Wilson is a Maryland-based performer and educator, specializing in chamber music, musical theater and the marching arts. His love of new music has compelled him to commission and premiere over thirty new works for percussion. His current research interests include Postminimalist percussion music and adapting the works of J.S. Bach to vibraphone. 

Zach is the percussionist for Glass Trees, a Pierrot + percussion contemporary music ensemble, and is a founding member of Matchstick Percussion, a Maryland-based percussion quartet dedicated to new music and promoting works by underrepresented artists through commissioning, collaborative performance and educational outreach. He debuted as a concerto soloist in 2019 with the Towson University Symphony Orchestra, and collaborated with the Towson University Theater Department as composer/performer for Icarus at the Border.

As a freelancer, he has appeared with ensembles such as the New Orchestra of Washington, 21st Century Consort, Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra, the Regenerate! Orchestra, and Virago. His playing has taken him to eight states and the District of Columbia, including venues like the Kennedy Center, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art for the Bang on a Can LOUD Weekend, Hirshhorn Museum, Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, PS21: Performance Spaces for the 21st Century, Capital One Hall and Heinz Hall. 

As an educator, Zach was the Graduate Assistant for the prestigious Penn State Blue Band, preparing the drumline for over a dozen shows and assisting in the 2023 Rose Bowl. He has also taught drumlines, front ensembles, visual and drill for numerous high schools in Maryland. His students have received superb ratings at Maryland State Solo & Ensemble, successfully auditioned for county and state honor bands and gone on to major in percussion performance. 

Zach is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in percussion performance at the University of Maryland where he holds a Graduate Assistantship with the percussion studio. He received his Master of Music degree from Penn State University in 2023 and Bachelor of Music degree from Towson University in 2020. His teachers include Jon Bisesi, Lee Hinkle, Michelle Humphreys and Marsha Becker. In his free time, Zach enjoys tea, niche world history and making custom sets of wind chimes.