"Zachary Good is a Chicago-based instrumentalist (clarinets and Baroque recorders), improviser, and performer. He approaches music making with a variety of perspectives, ranging from historically-informed to experimental practices, while working across a spectrum of genres and techniques.

Zachary is clarinetist of the GRAMMY-award winning 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 OrchestraÕs All Access Chamber Series. His discography includes releases on Carrier Records, No Index, Homeroom, Parlour Tapes+, ears&eyes, and more.

Zachary loves teaching and mentoring musicians and composers. 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 2019Ð20 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 2014Ð2016, 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 UniversityÕs Bienen School of Music. He holds degrees from Oberlin Conservatory of Music and DePaul UniversityÕs School of Music. Zachary has participated in fellowships with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and the Aspen Contemporary Music program. His body of research explores the phenomena and functionality of dyad multiphonics on the soprano clarinet.

Projects:

Mocrep

ZRL

Eighth Blackbird

Frequent collaborators:

Manual Cinema

International Contemporary Ensemble

Ensemble Dal Niente

Civic Orchestra of Chicago"

"Ben Roidl-Ward is a bassoonist and improviser based in Chicago. His dedication to working with and advocating for composers of his generation has led him to commission and premiere numerous solo and chamber works featuring the bassoon with the goal of broadening the repertoire and expanding the possibilities of the instrument. Ben has appeared as a soloist with the Seattle Symphony and the Northwestern and Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensembles, along with several regional orchestras throughout the United States. He has performed with the International Contemporary Ensemble, Ensemble Dal Niente, the Spektral Quartet, the Chicago Symphony, and the New York Philharmonic. His festival appearances include the Mostly Mozart, Ravinia, Lucerne, Tanglewood, Spoleto, and Banff Festivals. A 2018 Luminarts Fellow in Classical Music, Ben was recently named one of five finalists for the International Double Reed Society's 2020 Gillet-Fox Competition. He is currently the second bassoonist of the Illinois Symphony and was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago for three years. Ben serves on the faculties of Carthage College, the Music Institute of Chicago, the People's Music School, the Merit School of Music, and the North Carolina Governor's School. He is a doctoral candidate at Northwestern University, where he studied with David McGill. Previous teachers include Ben Kamins at Rice University, George Sakakeeny at the Oberlin Conservatory, and Francine Peterson in the Seattle Area."