Today we’d like to introduce you to Zach Santos.
Zach, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I graduated with my degree in music education from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. After graduation, I landed my first job as a high school band director at Vista Ridge High School in Cedar Park, TX where I taught for six years. I was afforded many opportunities and was a part of an extremely influential team that helped me get to where I am today. During my time at Vista Ridge I earned my Masters in Business Administration and put that to work as a part time consultant, choreographer, and clinician for band programs cross the country. My business and family continued to grow, and I decided to make the leap to becoming fully self-employed. I most recently started The Band Blueprint with a great friend and colleague of mine, Zack Travis.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road hasn’t always been smooth, but I cannot complain about the journey. Most of the obstacles I encountered turned out to be skills or information that I needed to acquire in order to grow. These are things that can never be taken away from me and I do not take them for granted. I had faith that with my work ethic, and desire to learn, that I would overcome any obstacles I encountered. While growth can be difficult, it is necessary, and I am lucky I get to do it in a field that I love, with people that I love.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I think I am most known for producing marching band choreography. I began writing choreography for Vista Ridge in 2018 and was given opportunities to write and teach choreography for other schools. These opportunities turned into marching band clinics for individual schools, drum corps camps, and presenting at conferences. I am currently expanding my program coordination services where we create custom marching band shows from start to finish, and hope to continue to do so. Our latest offering is The Band Blueprint which includes a comprehensive virtual curriculum, a scholarship for Drum Corps International, and Weekly Mastermind Calls. We have big plans on the horizon and can’t wait to share them with the world!
I am most proud of our commitment to excellence which in turn sets our programs up for success. Providing a high quality product for the students in those programs is a great honor, and one we don’t take lightly. We are communicative, trustworthy, and most of all, timely!
I think the thing that sets us apart more than anything is our timeliness. We are available for our programs and turn around high quality material quickly so that the teachers we work with can plan ahead. We never want to be the ones in the way of a band program’s success, and by delivering our materials on time we remove a major variable for each of our programs.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
I owe the biggest thank you to my parents. Without their support and presence in my life, none of this would have been possible. I also owe a huge thank you to my wife Kendall, who believes in me, and pushes me to follow my dreams while keeping me grounded.
The list of mentors who have helped me in the band world is long, but a few would be Tracy Redus, my middle school band director who taught me to love my instrument. Ed Stein, one of my high school band directors who reinforced my love for band. Robert Selaiden, Kim Shuttlesworth, Ray Sasaki, Bryan Christian, Hector Gil, Mike Howard, Jeremy Spicer, Manny Maldonado, Peter Beckhart, Reid Atkinson, Ryan George, and so many more. These people were there for me throughout my journey and I am so fortunate to have learned from each of them.
The biggest supporters of The Band Blueprint have been Zack Travis and Steve Smith. Without these two helping with the fine details, being available to develop the product, and sharing their talents, this would not have taken off. I also owe thanks to Marcus Neudigate, Liz Revis Ray, Andrew Fuhrman, Jonah Hammett, and Jolene Travis for their contributions. The quote that comes to mind from this journey is “Alone I can go fast, Together we can go far” and I can’t wait to see how far we can go with The Band Blueprint!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thebandblueprint.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.band.blueprint/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61573519195522
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachsantos4444
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBandBlueprint
Image Credits
Marcus Neudigate
David Truong
Liz Revis Ray
