Biography

Concert percussion artist and educator, Zach Gutierrez, has been praised by audiences for his sincere musical performances and has established himself as a musician offering a dynamic concert experience.

Zach has performed in events with the Yale Percussion Group, Peabody Percussion Group, 3G Percussion, Sō Percussion, Alarm Will Sound, MUSIQA, Transitory Sound and Movement Collective, Drum Corps International, Winter Guard International, and more. Early in his performing career, his involvement in the marching and pageantry arts concluded with receiving the Fred Sanford Award with the Cadets 2013 percussion section, under the direction of Colin Mcnutt. In recent years, he has made appearances at The Kennedy Center, Princeton University, Lone Star College Contemporary Music Festival, Gray Contemporary, Space City New Music Festival, Rothko Chapel, Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston, among others. He has performed under the baton of world renowned conductors including Marin Alsop, Ludovic Morlot, David Zinman, Christoph Eishebach, Peter Oundjian, David Hill, Franz Krager, Brett Mitchell, Joseph Young, Laurent Pillot, and Arthur Arnold. 

As a chamber musician, Zach co-founded 3G Percussion with his brothers Sarek Gutierrez and Jacob Gutierrez. The group's performances have featured percussion chamber music by composers such as Alejandro Viñao, Toru Takemitsu, John Cage, Robert Honstein, and James Romig. 3G Percussion has performed primarily in Texas and internationally in Canadian cities such as Montreal, Toronto and London. In 2017, 3G Percussion collaborated with the Transitory Sound and Movement Collective to create a hour -long, large-scale interdisciplinary work of dance, film, and music with creatives from Dallas and New York City.

Zach’s multifaceted career has led him into various musical activities including being a co-founder of the Space City New Music Festival (SCNMF), a vibrant international music festival designed to support emerging artists and the creation of modern compositions. SCNMF brought in participants from across the world including Poland, Taiwan, United States, Mexico, Germany, and Canada. In 2018, SCNMF generated and premiered 17 newly composed works that were performed by participants, 3G Percussion, and Crystal Chu. In 2019, the Space City New Music Festival featured guest artists Cameron Leach, Hub New Music, Daryl Robinson, and Shih-Hui Chen. 

Zach continues to be an avid collaborator with composers and other musicians to further the creation of new percussion repertoire. Most recently, he was a member of the commissioning consortium for Alejandro Vinao’s Stress and Flow, for percussion quartet and electronics, and Juri Seo’s Sonata, for marimba and vibraphone. Currently, Zach is organizing a consortium to commission a new work for two percussionists composed by Miles Walter, which will be premiered in Houston, TX in 2025.

Additional performance highlights include a performance in the U.S. premiere of Where We Lost Our Shadows, a piece for orchestra, video, and soloists Shanya Dunkelman, Ali Setha, and Helga Davis. This event was part of The Human Journey, a collaboration between the Kennedy Center, National Geographic Society, and the National Gallery of Art. Where We Lost Our Shadows recognized and depicted the timeless struggle of human migration and its many effects, while celebrating the resilient human spirit that instigates and survives it. Incorporating Qawwali raga and texts by Palestinian poet Ghassan Zaqtan, it is the creation of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Du Yun and Palestinian videographer Khaled Jarrar. This work was Co-commissioned by the Kennedy Center with Carnegie Hall, the American Composers Orchestra, London’s Southbank Centre, and Cal Performances. 

Zach completed a Master of Musical Arts degree from the Yale School of Music and a Master of Music degree at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, both under the tutelage of Robert van Sice. He completed his undergraduate studies at University of Houston and is a certified K-12 music teacher in Texas. 

Zach is currently the Director of Percussion for the Dulles feeder pattern in Fort Bend ISD.