Zachary Allen

Zachary Allen, age sixteen, is a sophomore at Niles West High School In Skokie, Illinois. He has been studying oboe for three years as a student of Erica Anderson at the Music Institute of Chicago where he is currently a Merit Scholar. He has been a fellow of the Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative since 2019. Prior to oboe Zachary studied cello for five years. He switched instruments after hearing the oboe solo from Sheherazade. Zachary was named a first prize winner in the 2020 Grand Prize Virtuoso International Music Competition, due to current COVID19 travel restrictions, he is unable to participate in the winners concert at the Beethoven House in Bonn, Germany. He was also named a first prize winner in both the 2020 Great Composers Competition (Best Saint-Saens Performance), and the 2020 Great Composers Competition (The Art of Winds and Percussion). Zachary has performed with a number of local ensembles including the Merit School of Music Philharmonic Orchestra and the Merit Wind Symphony. He is currently co-principal of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. In 2019 Zachary attended Interlochen Arts Camp as Principal Oboist of both the Orchestra and Wind Symphony. In 2021 he will return to Interlochen Arts Camp to attend their six week high school program. Zachary has participated in masterclasses with Tom Boyd, Alex Klein, Toyin Spellman-Diaz, Katherine Needleman, and Titus Underwood. During the summer of 2020, he completed a six week Arts Youth Leadership course with Project 440. He went on to serve on the Teen Advisory Committee for the Chicago 2020 Virtual Teen Arts Leadership Summit. Zachary is also a member of Boy Scouts of America and is working toward completing his Eagle Scout rank by the end of this academic year.

You can find Zachary’s performance here.