Zach Mayer

 

Zach Mayer brings people together through the power of spiritual wordless melodies, rooted in Jewish tradition called nigunim. Zach channels his family lineage of four-generations of cantors before him, as he guides communities around the world in pursuing their own joyous voices in song. 

Singer, composer, multi-instrumentalist and teacher, Mayer has over 35 million hits on YouTube for his “Subway Sax Battle,”

“Zach Mayer is a wonderful, embracing, enthusiastic musician and a real mensch. He brings knowledge, passion and warmth to his teaching.”
- Frank London, Klezmatics

“Zachary is one of the top Jewish instrumentalists and singers of his generation. He is also a high-level pianist, saxophonist, arranger, composer and improviser who has already contributed wonderful original nigunim to the contemporary canon. His warm personality and compelling spiritual presence has enabled him to rise to the top as a leading figure in the contemporary resurgence of Jewish music”. -Dr. Hankus Netsky,
Chair of Contemporary Improvisation at the New England Conservatory

Zach Mayer has performed with John Zorn, Frank London, Michael Alpert, Joey Weisenberg, and Bobby McFerrin. 

He performs internationally with Zion80, a 10-piece Jewish Afrobeat band inspired by the music of Shlomo Carlebach, and his folk sextet, Night Tree, has toured internationally and has released two albums produced by Seamus Egan of SOLAS.

Accolades:

  • Faculty at Brandeis Institute of Music and Art, Boston

  • Faculty at Laguardia Arts High School, NYC 

  • International Klezmer/improvisation workshops  

  • Musical Director of Kahal B’raira, Cambridge 

  • Masters of Music from the New England Conservatory, Boston 

  • Member of Hadar’s 2020-2022 Rising Song Fellowship