Zachary Larson, Guitarist

Currently based in Denver, Colorado, Zachary Larson is an ambitious guitarist dedicated to exposing audiences to the rare and under-performed music in guitar literature. Many of his concert programs have included the works of Hans Werner Henze, Louis Andriessen, Reginald Smith Brindle, and Segundo Pastor, as well as the premieres of several new chamber works.
Zachary’s advocacy for chamber music drove him to become an original member of Ensemble 768, a modern music ensemble that aided in the formation of his flute and guitar duo – the Keith/Larson Duo, with flutist Leanna Keith. The Duo has performed on tour across the United States and in Canada and has been featured performers at the 2014 Omaha Under the Radar Festival, 2015 Oscillations Concert Series, 2015 Canadian Flute Convention, 2016 Oh My Ears Music Marathon, and the 45th National Flute Association Convention. In 2015, they began performing a program consisting entirely of new works commissioned by and dedicated to the Duo entitled "New Music-New Horizons." The program has been concertized in several major U.S. cities, culminating in a lecture-recital on contemporary chamber music at the Denver University Research and Performance Summit. It showcases works by emerging composers of their generation, including Kevin Baldwin, Sarah Perske, Daniel Sabra, Stephen Bailey, Phill Smith, and Elizabeth Kennedy-Bayer. Their latest recording, Dawn Till Dusk, features music by Joaquín Rodrigo, Christopher Caliendo, and Toru Takemitsu, and is available for purchase on their website. An avid arranger, Zachary has arranged orchestral masterpieces of the 19th Century for flute and guitar. These include the first realizations of Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol, Op. 34, and the Introduction et Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28 by Camille Saint-Saens for flute and guitar. He also performs in the Collective and Nebula modern music ensembles, and Chimaera Guitar Trio.
On multiple occasions he has been a featured soloist with chamber orchestra and concert choir, won prizes in the Lamont Chamber Competition, and had performances broadcast on 90.7 fm KVNO. In 2016 he became the first prize laureate of the inaugural Shark Tank Entrepreneur Competition in Denver with the Chimaera Guitar Trio.
Zachary earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and a Master of Music degree from the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver. His primary teachers have been Hadley Heavin, Jonathan Leathwood, and Ricardo Iznaola. He has had additional studies in flamenco guitar with René Heredia.