Trumpet, timpani, guitar, or bass guitar: Wade Zagurski can play it all! With apparent ease, the Friends School band director can produce a wordless language everyone can relate to. 

“He definitely knows his stuff,” says senior Joseph Penders, who participates in Mr. Z’s jazz rhythm lab. “He can pick up any instrument and play. It’s really impressive.”

Zagurski puts it modestly.

“I’m kind of a jack of all trades,” he says. 

Every musician has a starting point. It is not possible to just be good at all instruments without putting in the time. Zagurski began early.

“In elementary school, I started on the trumpet in the 4th grade,” he says. Growing up, his family didn’t have much money, so “it was a very unique thing for me to have my own musical instrument.”

The trumpet was the beginning of his ever-expanding passion for music. Eventually, he was offered money to play for a local church. 

“It blew my mind. I realized, like, ‘I can get paid for this,’ ” he says. It dawned on him: “music was an inexpensive, affordable source of edutainment.”

His hard work, and talent for music, eventually brought him out of his hometown. 

“Music was the thing that pulled me out of the Essex and Dundalk area, and got me into a full scholarship at Towson University,” he says.

Not only did Zagurski receive a full scholarship, but he got additional stipends for teaching music classes at Towson. From there, he was able to build his musical career. For 20 years, he had a business called Sound Opportunities Music Instruction. 

What’s more, his passion for music eventually took him all over the country. 

“For about three years I was on the road full-time, playing in a horn band,” he says.

Today, Zagurski still plays multiple instruments in different bands. 

“Outside of school, he plays shows and gigs every weekend,” says senior Harrison Fribush. “He’s in a bunch of different groups and he plays the trumpet, the bass, the guitar. He’s really all over the board.”

What types of music does this aficionado like listening to himself?

“That’s really hard for me to pin down, because it’s like asking a chef their favorite spice or an artist what their favorite color is,” he says. “It depends on each genre. And I love all the genres.”

But if he really had to pick?

“I think my preference would tend to be a little older, the 70s and 80s progressive kind of music. But, yeah, I mean, I like it all,” says Zagurski. “I just like hearing stuff that I’ve never heard before.”

These days, it is easy to forget the creative aspects of older music.

“Back then, it was a lot more artistry … without restriction. Meaning, if they had an idea, and it took 13 minutes to follow this idea through, it was artistry, and it was unencumbered,” he says. “So I tend to like to hear these artists really work through their ideas.”

And how did Zagurski find his way to the Friends School of Baltimore? 

“Some friends of mine said, ‘Hey, there’s a band director named Grizz Gifford that is calling for an assistant,” he remembers.

Gifford linked Zagurski to Friends. And after he didn’t return as band director in the current seniors’ freshman year, Mr. Z took over the band department.

Zagurski has advice for students – and people in general. Hard work pays off, he says. But also, make sure you’re enjoying yourself.

“When you take up your own instrument, take up what you love. Let things happen naturally that way,” he says. “But practice, and be diligent about it.”

So follow that passion, or start a new hobby. Music was an unexpected career for Zagurski. Maybe following what you love will change your life too.