Zachary Watkins has studied composition with Janice Giteck, Jarrad Powell, Robin Holcomb and Jovino Santos Neto at Cornish College. In 2006, Zachary received an MFA in Electronic Music and Recording Media from Mills College where he studied with Chris Brown, Fred Frith and Alvin Curran. Zachary has received commissions from Clarinetist Beth Fleenor thefrankagency, pianist and composer TIFLIN, Cornish College of The Arts, the Microscores Project, the Beam Foundation, Somnubutone Radio Series free103point9.org, sfsound and most recently the Seattle Chamber Players. His piece Suite for String Quartet was awarded the Paul Merritt Henry Prize for Composition. Zachary was the recipient of grants awarded by The American Music Center and The Foundation for Contemporary Arts for the 2008 premiere of Country Western a multi-media Chamber piece as part of the Meridian Gallery's Composers in Performance Series meridian gallery. Zachary has performed at the 2006 International Computer Music Conference and the 2007 Bent Festival in Los Angeles with his band The Pink Canoes and premeired new work at the 10th Annual Music For People and Thingamajigs Festival. His sound art work entitled Designed Obsolescence, "spoke as a metaphor for the breakdown of the dream of technology and the myth of our society's permanence," review by Susan Noyes Platt in the Summer 05 issue of ARTLIES. During October of 2006, Zachary was an artist in residence at the Espy Foundation.