Zachary Preucil

Organization: Eastman School of Music
Instrument / Position: Cello/Graduate Student
Website: https://en.gravatar.com/zpreucil

Bio: Zachary Preucil recently received his Bachelors of Music degree with Academic Honors in Cello Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music, and is currently pursuing his Master of Music degree as well as an Arts Leadership Certificate at the Eastman School of Music. His primary teachers have been David Ying, Yeesun Kim and Walter Preucil. Zachary has also studied at many summer festivals and institutes, including the National Summer Cello Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; the Aspen Music Festival; the Castleman Quartet Programs; Bowdoin International Summer Music Festival; the Interlochen Arts Academy; and the Hartwick College Summer Music Festival and Institute. Additionally, he has performed with the Midsummer's Music Festival since their 2011 season. He has played in solo masterclasses for Ralph Kirshbaum, Gary Hoffman, Thomas Landschoot, Anne Martindale Williams, and Steven Doane, and has studied chamber music with members of the Borromeo and Ying Quartets.

Zachary has served as principal and assistant principal cello of several orchestras, including the New England Conservatory Philharmonia, the Schaumburg Youth Orchestra, the Hartwick College Festival Orchestra, the IMEA District 7 Festival Orchestra, and the District 211 Honors Orchestra. He has also been a member of the Chicago Youth Symphony and the World Youth Symphony, and received consecutive selections to Illinois All-State Orchestras. His musical achievements have been recognized by numerous awards, including the New England Conservatory Merit Scholarship, the NSOA Orchestra Student of the Year award, Interlochen Arts Academy’s Fine Arts Award, and a Special Achievement Award from the Hartwick College Summer Music Festival and Institute. In 2008, he won first prize in the Chicago Federation of Musicians' Scholarship Competition and received a youth membership into the organization. In addition to his performance experiences, Zachary is also an active teacher in the Rochester, New York area, holding a teaching assistantship at Eastman and serving on the faculty of the Kanack School of Music in Brighton.

Outside of his life in music, Zachary is also a published writer, having written extensively on music and other topics. He served for two years as a co-editor of The Penguin, New England Conservatory’s student-run newspaper, and was also a regular contributor, often focusing his articles on the future of classical music and its relevance in contemporary culture. Additionally, his writing has appeared in the 2010 and 2012 editions of Hear Here!, NEC’s Liberal Arts Journal; the Chicago Cello Society blog; the Midsummer’s Music Festival blog; and the Huffington Post Arts blog.