Zachary Good is a Chicago-based instrumentalist (clarinets and Baroque recorders), composer, and performer.
Zachary is clarinetist of the sextet Eighth Blackbird, a founding Co-Artistic Director of the performance collective Mocrep, and one-third of the clarinet/percussion/cello trio ZRL. He has frequently performed with International Contemporary Ensemble, Music of the Baroque Chicago, Manual Cinema, and Ensemble Dal Niente. He has been a featured soloist with International Contemporary Ensemble, DePaul University's Ensemble 20+, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s All Access Chamber Series. His discography includes releases on American Dreams Records, Carrier Records, No Index, Homeroom, Parlour Tapes+, ears&eyes, and more.
He is currently a middle school band director at the Chicago Waldorf School. Alongside the musicians of Eighth Blackbird, he was Visiting Instructor at the University of Richmond during the 2019–20 academic year. In 2018, Zachary worked closely with cellist YoYo Ma to mentor young musicians at the second annual Youth Music Culture Guangdong Festival in Guangzhou, China. As a Fellow and clarinetist in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago from 2014–2016, he helped conceive and establish the Orchestra's New Music Workshop. He has presented masterclasses on the clarinet, bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, chamber music, and contemporary performance techniques at institutions across the US, including Portland State University, Gettysburg College, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Northwestern University, University of Oklahoma, and University of Richmond.
Born in Pittsburgh, Zachary is currently a doctoral student at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music. He holds degrees from Oberlin Conservatory of Music and DePaul University’s School of Music. He is the recipient of the 2021 Luminarts Classical Winds Fellowship. Zachary has participated in fellowships with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and the Aspen Contemporary Music program.
As a composer/researcher, Zachary explores the phenomena and functionality of dyad multiphonics on the soprano clarinet.