Percussionist/Keyboardist with Collegiate Music Experience

Eric Z.

Hi! My name is Eric. I am a recent college graduate from Pacific Lutheran University. I graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor's in Percussion Performance in 2020 and was fortunate to have many performing as well as educational opportunities both on and off campus. As a multi-instrumentalist specializing in jazz vibraphone, I play and have performance/educational experience in percussion, drum set, and keyboards.

Perhaps the moment my love for teaching and knowledge began was not in a music setting, but rather a Calculus class I took my first year. Dr Edgar not only came to every class enthusiastic, but always emphasized the WHY versus just the HOW, along with questioning. These are both qualities that not only directly apply to music tutoring, but still inspire me to learn and teach to this day. So often music teachers can just say to do this, or do that, but to me, that is only half the job. WHY is playing with less tension better? WHY is practicing slower better? It’s one thing to say it; it’s much more to explain the reasoning behind it. With this approach, concepts stick so much better because there is a reason behind it. This is exactly why learning music, in my opinion, is actually quite simple - it is all about building blocks upon those already built. It doesn’t matter how small the previous block of knowledge was - the importance is progress, and I am here to facilitate this growth!

In terms of educational experience, I currently teach keyboards and percussion at Berretta Music Academy in Clearwater, FL along with maintain a private studio of both online and in-person lessons. During college, I was the acting beginning band teacher at Visitation STEM Academy in Tacoma, WA along with being a Percussion Teaching Artist for the Student Orchestras of Greater Olympia the same year.

I'm so excited to work with you and help you achieve your goals! Please contact me through email or phone with any questions or concerns - I am here to help!