By: Nathaniel Scheerer
William Zuccarini grew up in Howard County. He is the youngest of three children in his family. His father was an artist and his mother was an author of children's books. His parents influenced his interest in the arts starting at a young age. William Zuccarini’s passion for music started in elementary school when one of his teachers gave him some basic lessons on the piano. However, he was never able to get formal training because his parents were not wealthy enough to pay for lessons. He learned most things on his own and taught himself to play. He was introduced to the guitar in middle school by one of his friends. He did not have his own guitar but he would go over to his friend’s house and play his friend’s guitar, teaching himself to play another instrument while his friend played video games. One time his mother heard him playing and she was so impressed that his parents decided to get him his own guitar at the age of twelve. Still without any formal training, William Zuccarini became a skilled musician and learned to play by ear.
William Zuccarini’s passion for the guitar grew more in his junior year of high school when playing guitar became a source of stability and peace during his parent’s divorce. The conflict between his parents was taxing on his grades and a source of stress. During this time playing the guitar offered him peace and a way to escape the problems at home. He started to get into playing metal and rock and roll to help cope with his problems.
William Zuccarini was the senior editor for his high school’s newspaper and after graduating from Oakland Mills high school he attended Towson University, majoring in journalism. At college he realized that he did not want to live the quick paced life of a journalist and changed his major to music. The switch was very challenging and he struggled in his classes. Without any formal music education, most of his peers were more skilled than him and he struggled without the foundation that they had. In the end William Zuccarini was successful and graduated with his Bachelor's Degree with a concentration in Music Education, Choral, and Classical Guitar.
Currently, William Zuccarini teaches guitar and piano classes at Howard High School. He started in 2015 and is now finishing his fourth year of teaching at Howard. He has a passion for teaching and believes in helping his students to improve. One connection that he has with the Howard High community is the motivation to help his students to relax and take a break the highly competitive culture of Howard County. He hopes that in his class people will not feel like they have to be the best, but that they will be able to see the value of their own individual improvement. He also hopes to show his students that not everything comes quick and easy but instead requires working hard and practicing.
Nathaniel's Connection:
William Zuccarini and I have a connection through our joy of playing the guitar and our discovery of how playing can become a source of stability through family struggles.
