Zach Sheets (b. 1991) enjoys a diverse life as a chamber musician, composer, and orchestral flutist. He has performed with the Boston Ballet, Albany Symphony, Portland Symphony, Slee Sinfonietta, Ensemble Signal, New World Symphony, Ensemble Ulysses, and many more. Zach was the 1st prize winner of the 2017 Byron Hester Flute Competition and the 2015 Tallon Perkes Competition, and currently serves as principal flute, Lyndon Paul Lorusso Chair, of the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra and nth-degree chamber series.

During the summer, he has performed as part of the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme, the Spoleto Festival USA, ManiFeste-17, the Klangspuren Ensemble Modern Academy, Colorado College Music Festival, and June in Buffalo Festival. Zach has had the privilege of working with such conductors as Heinz Holliger, Oliver Knussen, Brad Lubman, Jean-Philippe Wurtz, and many others.

As a composer, Zach’s works have been performed in the U.S. and abroad by some of the world’s foremost interpreters of contemporary music. In November of 2016 he completed a month-long residency at the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne’s FORUM international des jeunes compositeurs. His new work, from cairn terrain, was awarded the 1° prix du jury and the 2016 Lorraine Vaillancourt Prize.

Other formative performances of Zach’s works include: with Lucas Vis and the Ensemble InterContemporain, at ManiFest-2015 in Paris; with James Baker and the Talea Ensemble, with the 2011-2012 Harvard Group for New Music; with Anthony Princiotti and the Vermont Symphony Orchestra’s 2016 “Made-in-Vermont” series; and solo/duo projects with Wolftone, Ogni Suono, Phil Pierick, Kurt Galvan, and more.

Zach holds a B.A. in Music and French Literature from Harvard University, and an M.M. (composition) and M.M. / Performer’s Certificate (flute) from the Eastman School of Music. He was the executive director of the [Switch~ Ensemble] from 2016-2017 and currently serves as the Development Director for the Talea Ensemble. He lives in New York City.