About Zach
Zach Tesch is a Kansas City-based composer and violinist whose works have been performed nationally and internationally. His prolific list of compositions contains works that range from traditional concertos, chamber music, and choral works to experimental pieces that challenge the definition of music itself. His works have been premiered by the PHACE Ensemble, Chamber Project St. Louis, FUSE Quartet, and the Webster University New Music Ensemble. His works for dance have premiered alongside choreography performed by students from the Webster University and University of Missouri - Kansas City Departments of Dance. In 2023, Mr. Tesch was invited to participate in the Vienna Summer Music Festival and the ICEBERG Institute in Vienna, Austria. At these festivals, his works Landscape No. 3 and Adrift received world premiers, and his work Twitch, for solo violin, was read by Irvine Arditti.
Mr. Tesch holds an MM in composition from the University of Missouri - Kansas City where he studied under renowned instructors such as Chen Yi, Yotam Haber, and Paul Rudy. He previously received a BM in composition from Webster University, where he has been awarded the Peggy Fossett Endowed Scholarship for Music and has twice been awarded both the Buder Foundation Scholarship and the Allen Carl Larson Endowed Scholarship for Instrumental Studies. In late 2020, he was awarded a grant to aid in the composition of a new piece, In the End, All Was Ash, a response to the challenges placed on live performance by the COVID-19 pandemic. His past composition instructors have included Dr. David Werfelmann, Kim Portnoy, and Dirk D'Ase, and his violin instructors have included Heidi Harris, Matt Pickart, and, most recently, Joseph Genualdi. He has also studied conducting with Dr. Paul Davis.
As a performer, Mr. Tesch has been trained in both traditional and experimental music, having studied the concertos of Bruch, Haydn, Berg, and Glass, as well as works by Cage, Pärt, Andriessen, Oliveros, Riley, and Lucier. He particularly enjoys performing music by lesser-known composers, his repertoire including works by composers such as Weigl, Raff, Clarke, and Klami. In addition to classical music, Zach has also received training in non-classical styles, especially in fiddle music. He performed as the concertmaster in the inaugural Clazz string intensive in St. Louis in the summer of 2021 and has attended workshops and/or performed in masterclasses for Tracy Silverman, Karen Kim of the Jasper String Quartet, and Dr. Chi Young Song. He has served as the assistant concertmaster of the Webster University Orchestra, and regularly performed with the Webster University New Music Ensemble during his time at the university. Mr. Tesch has played in venues as varied as Powell Hall in St. Louis, U.S.A., and Stirling Castle in Stirling, Scotland.
Mr. Tesch also has an interest in creative writing, especially playwriting. He has penned several short plays, including two which have received performances: Mirror and Watermelon Farm.