Bio

Sarek A. Gutierrez (he/him) is a musician whose performances have been described as “elegant and precise” to “brutally powerful” (Kamikaze Blog). He is a passionate performer, educator, arranger and recording engineer based in San Antonio, Texas.

As a performer, he frequently plays percussion with the San Antonio Philharmonic and Mid-Texas Symphony. Notable conductors he has performed under include Bruce Keasling for Harry Potter Live in Concert, Ludwig Carrasco (National Symphony of Mexico), Marcelo Lehninger (Grand Rapids Symphony), Gemma New (New Zealand Symphony) Christopher Wilkins (San Antonio Symphony), Charles Floyd (Boston Pops), David Cho (Lubbock Symphony), Lanfranco Marcelletti Jr., Akiko Fujimoto, and Troy Peters. He has been a featured soloist with the Classical Music Institute Chamber Orchestra, the UTSA New Music Festival, and the Space City New Music Festival.

Also known as a drum set specialist, he has frequently been hired to perform with groups on festival and club circuits across the U.S. and also locally including productions at the Public Theater of San Antonio, the Woodlawn Theatre, the Majestic Theatre, and the Tobin Center for Performing Arts, to name a few. His performances have been featured on independent record labels as well as radio stations across the U.S. More information about Sarek’s album credits, discography, and recording services can be found on his website.

As a music educator, Mr. Gutierrez is currently teaching as a full-time lecturer at Texas A&M University San Antonio and Our Lady of the Lake University; where he teaches courses in percussion, pedagogy, music production, and music appreciation. Before teaching at the university level, Mr. Gutierrez previously taught as a high school and middle school percussion instructor from 2011-2019 where his students consistently earned superior ratings and awards.

His DCI/WGI performance experience includes a year with the 2012 Sprit of Atlanta Drum & Bugle Corps., and two years with UTSA’s Rhythm of San Antonio Indoor Drumline. His DCI/WGI teaching experience includes serving on the instructional staff at the Guardians Drum & Bugle Corps., UTSA’s Indoor Drumline and the Our Lady of the Lake University Drumline. Mr. Gutierrez continues to work as a percussion clinician, composer and arranger for numerous programs across the state of Texas.

Mr. Gutierrez is currently pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) in Percussion Performance degree from Texas Tech University. He previously earned degrees from The University of Western Ontario (MM), and The University of Texas at San Antonio (BM) with a Distinguished Performance Certificate. He additionally completed a semester abroad program in Urbino, Italy studying jazz vibraphone with Marco Pacassoni. His primary percussion teachers include Dr. Lisa Rogers, Dr. Jill Ball, Dr. Graeme Francis, and Prof. Sherry Rubins.

Sarek proudly endorses Vic Firth sticks and mallets, Zildjian cymbals, Black Swamp Percussion instruments and accessories, and sE Electronics microphones.

Updated 05/01/2024