Bio
Sarek Gutierrez (he/him) is a musician whose performances have been described as “ranging from elegant and precise to brutally powerful” (Kamikaze Blog). He is a passionate performer, educator, and recording engineer based in San Antonio, Texas.
As a performer, he can be most often seen and heard with Harmonium of Texas (Jeffrey Kahane, conductor) and the San Antonio Philharmonic (Felipe Tristan, conductor). He has had the incredible opportunity to perform as a guest percussionist with the Mid-Texas Symphony (Akiko Fujimoto, conductor), Midland Symphony (Gary Lewis, conductor), Lubbock Symphony (David Cho, conductor), Lubbock Chamber Orchestra (Eric Allen, conductor) and other regional ensembles. Orchestral recording credits include Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection” and Gabriel Kahane’s Clarinet concerto featuring Anthony McGill, principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic. Both recordings have been broadcast on Texas Public Radio.
He has been a featured timpani soloist with the Classical Music Institute Chamber Orchestra performing Edvard Mirzoyan’s Symphony for String Orchestra and Kettle Drums under conductor, Gemma New in 2021. And as a marimba soloist at the UTSA New Music Festival in 2022 performing Romance for Marimba and Smartphone by Thomas Yee.
As a chamber musician, he is a member of 3G Percussion which has commissioned over a dozen new works for percussion trio from composers including Alejandro Vinao, Michael Burritt, and several emerging composers across the U.S., Europe and Latin America. He additionally has over a decade of experience performing Flute & Percussion duo music with various ensemble partners, including premiering 5 new works from composers across Canada and the US.
As a drum set specialist, he has performed and recorded with various groups across the U.S. and Canada including professional recording credits with First Caste Records and Yippy Ki Yay Records. He is currently a staff percussionist/drum set specialist at Temple Beth-El in San Antonio, TX. His previous experience includes residencies at the Woodlawn theatre, Public Theatre of San Antonio, Fredericksburg Theater, and the Tobin Center for Performing Arts.
Mr. Gutierrez is currently a full-time lecturer at Texas A&M University San Antonio, where he teaches courses in music appreciation. He was a recipient of an Excellence in Teaching Award in 2024 as a faculty member. His past experiences include teaching courses in percussion, pedagogy, music production, and music appreciation at Our Lady of the Lake University, and applied percussion lessons at Texas A&M International University in Laredo, TX.
Before teaching at the university level, Mr. Gutierrez taught as a high school and middle school percussion instructor from 2010-2019 where his students consistently earned superior ratings and awards at UIL competitions. His DCI/WGI performance experience includes a year with the 2012 Spirit 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 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 07/2026