Zak Rowntree
Principal 2nd Violin
Zak joined WASO in 1998.
Zak was born in England and started the violin at the age of 9. He won a scholarship to study at the prestigious Chethams School of Music with Nannie Jamieson a year later. At the age of 13 he won the Open section at the Cheltenham International Competitive Festival of Music.
He studied music at the University of York where he led the University Orchestra on a tour of Greece, performed concertos under Christopher Adey and formed a piano trio with his future wife Lisa during the Pablo Casals chamber music course.
He gave a strong commitment to the Contemporary Music Ensemble and gave the world premieres of several works. He then accepted a place at the Royal Northern College of Music on the Advanced Performance post-graduate course, where his teacher was Maciej Rakowski. During his time in Manchester, Zak developed his love of chamber music with lessons from the Lindsay, Fitzwilliam and Sorrel quartets and masterclasses from teachers such as Emmanuel Hurwitz. He also gained valuable orchestral experience with the BBC Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and English Northern Philharmonia.
Since moving to Perth in 1997, Zak has enjoyed being a member of WASO. He was appointed Associate Principal 2nd Violin in 2009, and Principal 2nd Violin in 2014. In addition to his orchestral work he is a member of the Darlington String Quartet, and enjoys teaching several students at home.
The instrument used by Zak Rowntree is on loan from Janet Holmes à Court AC