Zach Paris is an extremely versatile percussionist that specializes in a wide range of musical styles. His omnivorous approach in performance and education has led him to a career in jazz, latin, pop, country, rock, and heavy metal drum set, as well as marching percussion, classical percussion, African percussion, multi-percussion, and four-mallet marimba. In these areas, Zach has won a number of competitions including the Nebraska Guitar Center Drum-Off finals, the Victoria Drum Festival Solo Competition, the Heartland Marimba Festival Solo Competition, the Scottsdale Guitar Center Drum-Off, the Paul Seidel Drumming Competition, and the Percussive Arts Society International Percussion Ensemble Competition. He has also been recognized as a winner of 2 DownBeat Magazine Student Music Awards in the Graduate Blues/Pop/Rock Soloist category.

As a performer, Zach is one of the original founders of the rock band Righteous Vendetta (Sony Records). He spent 2 years with the band, touring the country playing countless venues and festivals in over 35 states. The band also won a number of competitions, including the Mountain West Region of the Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands. He can be heard on Righteous Vendetta’s first 2 recordings “Complexity of the Fallen” and “The Dawning” (Red Cord Records).

Zach is also an active educator, having taught college courses at Iowa Western Community College, the University of Nebraska, Central Arizona College, Arizona State University, and Arizona Christian University. He currently holds the position of director of bands and percussion studies at Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming. He also teaches privately face-to-face, as well as over Skype, to students of all ages, levels, and percussion styles.

Zach currently holds associate degrees in music education, music performance, and music technology from Northwest College (where he was named the 2010 Music Student of the Year), a bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of Wyoming (where he was named the Presser Scholar in 2013), and a master’s degree in percussion performance (MM) from the University of Nebraska. He is currently completing a doctorate in percussion performance (DMA) at Arizona State University.