Don Zentz
- Biographical Information
Don Zentz is in his 40th year of teaching instrumental music at every level in education. He has earned a remarkable reputation throughout his career for consistently exhibiting a commitment and dedication to excellence, musicianship of the highest order, consummate professionalism and, most importantly, a student-centered philosophy and approach to teaching. He is an honor graduate of Valdosta State University where he earned a B.M. in music education with jazz studies emphasis, and a M.M.E.Don is in his tenth year as the Director of Jazz Studies at the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts (high school) in Jacksonville, FL. The flagship of the jazz program is Jazz Ensemble I. Under Don’s direction, the band has been incredibly successful at the national level having won the National Jazz Festival twice, Basically Basie, Swing Central, DownBeat Awards every year, and being selected to perform at conferences that include The Midwest Clinic, Jazz Education Network (New Orleans/Dallas/Orlando), and the Western International Band Clinic in Seatle. Just months ago both the Douglas Anderson Wind Symphony and Jazz Ensemble I were named national Mark of Excellence winners, reflecting the band program's foundational philosophy of total musicianship. Individual student awards have been many and include NYO Jazz, Music for All, and Next Gen Jazz Orchestra selection along with alumni matriculating at such schools as Juilliard, the Manhattan School of Music, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and The New School.Don was hired by jazz education pioneer Rich Matteson in 1990 to teach as an Associate Professor of Music on the jazz faculty at the University of North Florida (Jacksonville, FL). As the director of the top jazz ensemble at UNF, Don produced two critically acclaimed CD’s with the band, won the National Collegiate Jazz Festival, appeared at several IAJE conferences, received DownBeat Student Music Awards, and brought the band and jazz program to international awareness for the first time by performing at some of Europe’s most prestigious jazz festivals. As the artistic director and administrator of the Great American Jazz Series at UNF, his band performed in concert with a list of over fifty jazz artists that reads like a “who’s who” in jazz. These include Herbie Hancock, Arturo Sandoval, Maria Schneider, Joe Lovano, Terry Gibbs, Diane Schuur, Eddie Daniels, and Toshiko Akiyoshi. Don was named an Outstanding Undergraduate Professor at UNF in 1996 and received a TIP Award from the Florida Board of Regents the following year for excellence in teaching.Don has directed the All-State Jazz Bands of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Maine. He has been a Keilwerth Saxophones Performing Artist since 1995. For over 20 years, he was a per service saxophonist with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra. He served two terms as president of the Florida Unit of IAJE and instituted a state jazz workshop for high school students. He has been an FBA jazz adjudicator for over 30 years and currently leads the jazz recertification seminars. In 1999, DownBeat Magazine awarded Don their Jazz Education Achievement Award primarily for his work at the University of North Florida, Florida Community College at Jacksonville, and leading the jazz division of the Georgia Governors Honors Program. In 2022, Don was inducted into the Jacksonville Jazz Festival Hall of Fame and named Jazz Educator of the Year by the National Jazz Festival. This past year, the Jazz Education Network selected Don as the recipient of their John LaPorta Jazz Educator Award.Don’s career reveals a deep passion for both the teaching and performing of music, and a commitment to kids! He credits his successes to his mentors – Bob Greenhaw, Rich Matteson, and Joe David – and to his loving wife of 39 years, Laurie.Back