Biography

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Currently based in New York City, Zachary Larson is a guitarist, banjoist, and multi-instrumentalist who continually expands his musical horizons. His early pursuits playing in Rock bands transformed into a career spanning across Broadway, Bluegrass, Pop, Avant-Garde, Latin, Folk, and Classical music.  

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Over the last few years he has been working in the worlds of musical theater and commercial music. After serving as a guitarist onboard cruise lines and in the national tours of Finding Neverland and Escape To Margaritaville, he began performing in New York City's Broadway and Off-Broadway pit orchestras for shows like Chicago, Water For Elephants, Titaníque, I Can Get It For You Wholesale, White Rose, and several others. He has been involved with new shows early in their development, and his playing can be heard on the original cast recording of the Pop-Rock musical The Magnificent Seven, available here. While pursuing these experiences he has had the privilege of sharing the stage with artists Jimmy Buffett, Kerry Ellis, Robbie Howard, Telly Leung, and Rob Houchen. He also tries his hand as a banjo player in NYC’s bustling Bluegrass scene and plays guitar in the comedy-rock show Cindy of Arc.

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Prior to working in theater Zachary spent most of his time on classical stages. His flute and guitar duo – The Keith/Larson Duo made an impact on the international landscape of modern classical music through several tours, recordings, festival appearances, and newly commissioned pieces. As a classical guitar soloist he has had multiple engagements with chamber orchestras, concert choirs, and radio broadcasts. Still active on the scene, recent highlights include appearances on banjo and tenor banjo with the Harlem Chamber Players, and a special performance of Susan LaBarr's The River for chorus and banjo at Carnegie Hall. Zachary proudly endorses Deering Banjos and is excited to be in their family of artists. 

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Outside of performances and recordings, he contributes new arrangements to the guitar repertoire and shares his knowledge with students as a teaching artist. His work is published through Clear Note Publications and SMP Press. 

 

Originally from the Midwest, Zachary holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in music from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the University of Denver, respectively. His primary teachers have been Hadley Heavin, Jonathan Leathwood, and Ricardo Iznaola.​​​