Zachary Himelhoch the Director of Percussion at Whties Creek High School in the Metro Nashville Public School district. Zachary holds Bachelor of Arts in Instrumental Performance from Columbia College Chicago and a Masters in Music Education from VanderCook College of Music. At Whites Creek Zachary developed “The Whites Creek DrumHeadz”, a performing ensemble dedicated to presenting traditional percussion-led music of the African Diaspora as well as highlighting the commonalties of musical styles throughout the Caribbean, South America and North America. Zachary’s duties at Whites Creek also extend to teaching several sections of classroom world percussion, overseeing and assisting the drumline, organizing and working with the concert band percussionists, over-seeing percussionists to accompany the choir and teaching private lessons to the percussion students.
Outside of his work at Whites Creek Zachary regularly presents workshops, clinics and masterclasses. He has presented at events throughout the country including: The Midwest Clinic, Vanderbilt Univeristy and The VanderCook College of Music Day of Percussion. Zachary also teaches online and in-person classes in World Percussion for the Classroom, designed to help teachers integrate world percussion into the classroom setting, as an Adjunct Instructor in the continuing education department at VanderCook College of Music.
While working as a freelance educator in Chicago, Zachary owned and operated ZJH Percussion, a company providing instructional programs, presentations, and private tutoring in all aspects of world percussion. ZJH Percussion, in collaboration with Columbia College Chicago’s Community Arts Partnership and the Music Institute of Chicago, served Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Parks District for over four years through the provision of culture and music education to underprivileged learners through the Chicago area. Zachary also worked a touring artist for Urban Gateways, presenting to the history of Afro-Cuban music to students throughout the Chicagoland area.
As a performer, Zachary specializes Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, and Caribbean styles. He has worked alongside numerous artists including Chance The Rapper, Denny Jiosa, Andy Narell, Lenny Castro, Etienne Charles, The Cool Kids, Daru Jones, Mark Walker, and Dave Garfield. Zachary continues to keep an active schedule and has performed at events including: Lollapalooza, the Detroit Jazz Festival, The Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC), The Midwest Clinic, the Hyde Park Jazz Festival Benefit Concert, Windsor Jazz Festival, and the Syracuse Jazz Festival.