Zachary Bell
Composer
About
Zachary Bell (b. 2000) is an American composer who strives to create potently expressive, thoughtfully-written pieces of music; music that is at times beautiful, angsty, ecstatic, sardonic, and vulnerable. His works have been performed and recorded across the United States at venues such as the Peabody Conservatory, Rice University, Baylor University, Ball State University, Columbus State University, Appalachian State University, Fresno State University, and the UMKC Conservatory, and at festivals including the Collaborative Composition Initiative, Divergent Studio, the Del Mar International Composer Symposium, the Atlantic Music Festival, and multiple International Trombone Festivals. Zachary’s work has been performed and/or recorded by ensembles including Unheard-Of//Ensemble, Ensemble Linea, Hub New Music, loadbang, the Ohio Trombone Quartet, the Baylor Symphony Orchestra, and the Baylor Wind Ensemble, and has been commissioned by bass trombonist Shane Stewart.
In 2019, Zachary was named co-winner of the Baylor Composition Competition, and has won the Best Audio award for his score at the Chillenium Game Jam in 2018. He has also done film score work for directors Tristan Sparks-McMahon, Nic Diaz, and Sarah Allen, including Tristan Sparks-McMahon’s adaptation of “Cain Rose Up,” as part of Stephen King’s Dollar Baby program, and Tristan Sparks-McMahon’s full-length film “breadcrumbs.”
Zachary is currently earning his Master’s degree in Composition and Music Theory Pedagogy at the Peabody Conservatory, where he studies with Michael Hersch. He previously studied with Scott McAllister and Ben Johansen at Baylor University, and has been fortunate to work with many composers, including Georg Friedrich Haas, Martin Bresnick, Pierre Jalbert, Reiko Fueting, David Ludwig, Felipe Lara, Melinda Wagner, Lei Liang, Benet Casablancas, Oscar Bettison, Matthew Evan Taylor, Sky Macklay, George Tsontakis, Kevin Puts, Nina Young, Zhou Long, Liliya Ugay, Robert Honstein, Arthur Gottschalk, Januibe Tejera, Joel Puckett, Niloufar Nourbakhsh, Matthew Ricketts, and many others.
Projects and News
Current Projects: Pieces for Unheard-Of//Ensemble, .abeceda ensemble, Impulse New Music Festival Faculty Trio, Leah Wenger
Upcoming Release: breadcrumbs – a film by Tristan Sparks-McMahon (film score)
Premiere: Septet–Love and Darkness Remain – Ensemble Linea, Peabody Conservatory, May 8th, 2024
Performance: I Walk on Suns at Night – McKey Monroe, Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Baltimore April 23rd, 2024
Performance: I Walk on Suns at Night – McKey Monroe, DC Correctional Facility, April 12th, 2024
Premiere: I Walk on Suns at Night – McKey Monroe, Peabody Conservatory, March 6th, 2024
Performance: Tenderbox – Fresno State Trombone Choir, Fresno State University, March 5th, 2024
Performance: Primordial Ordeal – And2 Percussion (James Taylor and Abigail Foehrkolb), UMKC Conservatory, February 16th, 2024
Premiere: Through a Haze for Unheard-Of Ensemble, San Antonio College, July 4th, 2023
Premiere: The Other Shore Across – loadbang, Longy School of Music, June 20th, 2023
Premiere: The Embers in my Heart are Stoked – Myroslav Mykhailenko (piano), Peabody Conservatory, May 3rd, 2023
Performance: Inhale Exhale – Isabelle Jamois (flute), Peabody Conservatory, May 3rd, 2023
Recording: Tie Me to the Mast – Peabody Camerata, Peabody Conservatory, April 25th, 2023
Premiere: Primordial Ordeal for percussion duo – March 5, 2023, Peabody Conservatory
Premiere: Inhale, Exhale for flute – Nov. 30th, Peabody Conservatory
Premiere: Apples, Branches, Body – Sep. 21st at 6:30 PM, Peabody Conservatory, Griswald Hall
Recording: Apples, Branches, Body for Hub New Music recorded Aug. 9th, Del Mar, CA
Premiere: In the Loge, an original ballet premiered by Baylor School of Music musicians and the Baylor Classical Ballet Society – Apr. 23rd at 6:00 PM, Baylor University, Jones Concert Hall
Premiere: Tenderbox for trombone octet premiered by the Baylor Trombone Studio – Nov. 3rd at 7:30 PM, Baylor University, Jones Concert Hall
Premiere: Trial and Error, and Trial (2021 revised version) premiered by Shane Stewart and Justin Snyder – 2021 International Trombone Festival (Columbus, GA)
Premiere: Crucible premiered by Michelle Guzman and Jameson Platte – 2021 Atlantic Music Festival (Waterville, ME)
Contact
Please reach out through my email or Facebook if you have any questions or just want to form a connection. Thank you!
email: zacharybell121@gmail.com
phone: 210-563-3478
Zachary Bell Music 