Roger Zare

Roger Joseph Zare (born 1985 Sarasota, Florida) is a Chinese-American composer and pianist. Currently based in Boone, North Carolina. He is known primarily for his orchestral and wind ensemble works, several of which have received significant recognition in the contemporary music community. Life Zare grew up in Sarasota, Florida, and began playing piano at age 5, violin at age 11, and began composing at age 14. He received his BM from the USC Thornton School of Music in 2007, his MM from the Peabody Conservatory in 2009, and his DMA from the University of Michigan in 2012. Zare’s teachers have included Bright Sheng, Kristin Kuster, Paul Schoenfield, Michael Daugherty, Derek Bermel, David Smooke, Christopher Theofanidis, Tamar Diesendruck, Donald Crockett, Morten Lauridsen, Frederick Lesemann, Betty Hines, and Rex Willis. Before his collegiate career, Zare attended Pine View School in Osprey, Florida. 2005–2010 In 2005, while studying under Tamar Diesendruck at USC, Zare won the New York Youth Symphony’s 65th annual First Music commission and was the youngest composer in the foundation’s history to receive that honor, marking the beginning of Zare’s professional career. For the grou