International Award Winning Composer, Saxophonist, and Producer
Zachary Bornheimer
Program Feature Bio
Zachary Bornheimer is a boundary-pushing jazz composer, saxophonist, and GRAMMY® Award-winning album Associate Producer whose music captivates audiences worldwide. Renowned for his lyrical improvisation and melody-driven compositions, his work has garnered hundreds of thousands of streams, resonating with listeners across the U.S., Europe, and beyond.
A two-time winner of the Owen Prize in Jazz Composition, Bornheimer’s music blends innovation with emotional depth. His acclaimed piece Dance of the Ancients—hailed as "out of this world" and "amazing"—has amassed nearly 500,000 streams alone. His composition Haunted Lullaby of the Forgotten, one of the inaugural winners of Ravinia’s International Bridges Competition, was praised by the Chicago Tribune as "moving" and "imploring." Recognized by the Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Awards (Honorable Mention and Finalist) and the International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers (ISJAC), Bornheimer’s works have been featured at every ISJAC New Music Workshop from 2017 to 2024—a testament to his lasting artistic influence.
Beyond composition, Bornheimer played an important role in one of the most acclaimed jazz albums of the decade. As Associate Producer of Maria Schneider’s Data Lords, he was personally trained by Schneider to serve as a creative sounding board, helping to shape the album’s mixing, mastering, and post-production to enhance its emotional depth. The album went on to win a GRAMMY® Award, become a Pulitzer Prize finalist, and receive the prestigious Grand Prix de l’Académie du Jazz. Schneider’s mentorship, alongside guidance from legendary engineer Gene Paul, helped fuel Bornheimer’s artistic growth, influencing his own compositions, including Dance of the Ancients.
As a dynamic and in-demand performer, Bornheimer has taken the stage alongside jazz greats, including Chick Corea, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, and The Four Seasons (The Modern Gentlemen). His selection for the Ravinia Steans Music Institute (RSMI) All-Star Quintet—handpicked by Billy Childs, Nathan Davis, and Rufus Reid—further cemented his status as a world-class artist. A 2017 RSMI Jazz Fellow, he was also a Finalist for the VSA International Young Soloist Award, solidifying his reputation as a standout talent in contemporary jazz.
Beyond performance and composition, Bornheimer is a renowned educator who developed an innovative, systematic approach to jazz instruction when he was serving as an instructor at Eckerd College. Trained in music copywork by Maria Schneider, his meticulous attention to detail has also made him a highly regarded music copyist, with credits including Schneider, Chuck Owen, Rufus Reid, John Clayton, Tom Brantley, and others.
Bornheimer holds a Master’s in Jazz Composition from the University of South Florida, where he was a Y2K Fellow. He has studied deeply with Chuck Owen and Jack Wilkins, taking additional lessons from Maria Schneider, Ralph Bowen, and Rick Margitza among others.
A composer, performer, and producer at the forefront of modern jazz, Zachary Bornheimer continues to redefine the art form, inspiring audiences and musicians alike with his innovative voice and uncompromising artistry.
226-Word Bio
Jazz composer, saxophonist, and GRAMMY® Award Winning Album Associate Producer Zachary Bornheimer's lyrical improvisations and melody-driven compositions have sparked international and national intrigue with performances in Florida, Chicago, Italy, France, England, and terrestrial radio. Bornheimer was a 2017 Fellow at RSMI’s Program for Jazz and a Y2K Fellow at the University of South Florida, where he earned his MM in Jazz Composition.
Bornheimer has performed professionally with Chick Corea, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterwork Orchestra, The Four Seasons (The Modern Gentleman), and saxophonist Jack Wilkins.
Studying with Jazz Composition with Chuck Owen on Fellowship at the University of South Florida, Bornheimer’s works have been performed by various USF Ensembles including the USF Jazztet across Europe and USF Jazz Ensemble 1 with guest artists. Bornheimer additionally served as an Instructor at Eckerd College for several years.
Bornheimer served as associate producer on Maria Schneider’s Data Lords (which garnered international accolades including GRAMMY and Pulitzer recognition), was one of three winners of the inaugural David Baker Prize in 2018, was the first two-time winner of the Owen Prize in Jazz Composition, was a finalist for the 2018 VSA’s International Young Soloist Award, and his piece Color Shift was a finalist for the 2015 Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composers Award. Bornheimer’s works have been featured during New Music Workshops for the International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers (ISJAC) Symposium.
150-Word Bio
Saxophonist, composer, and GRAMMY® Award Winning Album Associate Producer Zachary Bornheimer has already built a national and international reputation for his intermixing of free, orchestral, fusion, Brazilian, swing, and post-bop jazz elements in his work yielding mainstream recognition with more than 500,000 streams of his compositions along with commendations from ISJAC, ASCAP, the VSA, and RSMI. Bornheimer’s compositions have been influenced heavily by his studies and work with Chuck Owen and Maria Schneider. Bornheimer has professionally performed with Chick Corea and the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra and, as a composer, was the first 2x winner of the Owen Prize in Jazz Composition for his arrangement of Donny McCaslin’s “Henry” (premiered by McCaslin) and for Elegy (2017). Bornheimer was appointed a fellow at Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute by Rufus Reid as a 2017 RSMI Fellow and later returned selected by Reid, Billy Childs, and Nathan Davis for the All Star Quintet.
100-Word Bio
Jazz saxophonist, composer, and GRAMMY® Award Winning Album Associate Producer Zachary Bornheimer has developed an international reputation for forward-looking, lyrical, and dynamic works. Bornheimer and projects he’s worked on have been recognized with: A GRAMMY® Award (2021, Data Lords, Associate Producer), Owen Prize (2015 “Henry”, 2017 “Elegy”), the David Baker Prize (2017 “Haunted Lullaby of the Forgotten”), the Y2K Fellowship at the University of South Florida (2015-2017), RSMI Program for Jazz Fellowship (2017), ASCAP (Young Jazz Composer Award (2015 “Color Shift” – Finalist, 2023 “A New Chapter Unfolds” – Honorable Mention) and the VSA International Young Soloists Competition (2018 Finalist).
Full Bio
Jazz Saxophonist, composer, and GRAMMY® Award Winning Album Associate Producer Zachary Bornheimer has already built a national and international reputation having performed in Florida, New York, Chicago, Italy, France, and England.
Studying with Jazz Composition with Chuck Owen on Fellowship at the University of South Florida, Bornheimer’s works have been performed by various USF Ensembles including the USF Jazztet in Europe and USF Jazz Ensemble 1 with guest artists.
Most recently, Bornheimer served as Associate Producer on Maria Schneider’s Internationally Acclaimed and Awarded Data Lords double-disc album providing assistance during the mixing, mastering, and post-production stages in addition to providing copywork assistance for the project.
Bornheimer served as an instructor at Eckerd College from 2018-2021 giving private and course instruction on jazz ensemble playing, composition, and saxophone specifically. At Eckerd, Bornheimer developed his robust & systematic approach to jazz education and music education as a whole.
Bornheimer was the first two-time winner of the Owen Prize in Jazz Composition, awarded the 2016 prize for Henry (composed and premiered by Donny McCaslin & USF Jazz Ensemble 1), and the 2017 prize for his composition Elegy. His piece Color Shift was among the finalists for the 2015 Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composers Award and was featured during New Music Workshops for the 2017 International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers (ISJAC) Symposium. Bornheimer was named a Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute (RSMI) Fellow for the 2017 Program for Jazz by Rufus Reid. He returned to Ravinia in late 2017 to perform as a part of the prestigious Ravinia All Star Quintet.
Bornheimer’s most recent recording, Year in Review: 2018 [Limited Edition] explores several recordings made during 2018 during his Patreon Experiment. This recording features quintet, big band, string quartet + jazz rhythm, and jazz trio in a variety of compositional sub-genres.
Bornheimer’s most recent dedicated Quintet release is a 7-part album called Emotional, Vol. 1: Live at the University of South Florida. This recording is an exploration into the late 60’s Avant-garde and the modern fusion eras while simultaneously writing to challenge and push his Quintet to new heights-the live performance of the suite had one of the largest audiences and quickest standing ovations of any USF recital within recent years (until his graduate recital). Strikingly unique compositions and arrangements have been pervasive through Bornheimer’s works, being commissioned by various ensembles including the USF Jazztet, USF Jazz Ensemble 1, Andrew Allen Trio + Friends, and Paul Gavin & Full Force.
When completing his graduate degree in Jazz Composition under Chuck Owen at the University of South Florida on Graduate Fellowship, Bornheimer assembled his Jazz Orchestra, a tour de force of musicianship and power, with some of the best and well respected musicians in the area in the Central Florida area. The premiere performance of the Jazz Orchestra earned one of the largest audiences to attend a student performance (even larger than some USF Ensemble concerts) and one of the fastest standing ovations on record. The orchestra blends free, orchestral, fusion, Brazilian, swing, and post-bop jazz elements into an emotionally satiating, exploratory, and enriching sound.
As a saxophonist, Bornheimer has performed with with local and national ensembles including the USF Jazztet, USF Jazz Ensemble 1, Paul Gavin & Full Force, the Jazz Legacy Big Band, Samba Jazz Quartet, the New Jazz Standards Quartet, Andrew Allen Trio + Friends, La Lucha, Jack Wilkins & Friends, and the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra at various venues including the Umbria Jazz Festival, Jazz à Vienne, the Wigan Jazz Festival, and the Birmingham Jazz Festival. Professionally as a sideman or soloist, he has performed at the Jewel of the Ridge Jazz Festival and the Hague Jazz Festival and, as a member of the top Big Band at USF, performed with Danny Gottlieb, Frank Greene, Christine Jensen, Maria Schneider, Rufus Reid, Steve Houghton, Ryan Truesdell, Gary Smulyan, Michael Dease, and Ron Blake. He has studied clarinet with Brian Moorhead, saxophone & flute with Valerie Gillespie, saxophone with Jack Wilkins, saxophone, flute, and composition with Dean Eaves, composition with Chuck Owen, and has taken a few lessons from Ralph Bowen, Rick Margitza, and Maria Schneider.
Growing up in South Florida, Bornheimer was exposed to a wide variety of music. His mom, on Sunday afternoons, would play cassettes of David Sanborn while driving home; that music always bothered him because it reminded him that the weekend was over. Eventually, he grew to like school and didn’t mind David Sanborn. In fact, Sanborn is one of his early influences. USF alumni Ryan Lupton, one of his first teachers, exposed him to Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Cannonball Adderley, and Michael Brecker, all of which play a major role for his musical ear.
