While Zachary McCoy takes 23 hours of classes and spends up to 18 hours working as a certified pharmacy technician weekly, he still finds time to serve as the music director of the Balmoral Chamber Orchestra.
The orchestra was established by McCoy as a volunteer ensemble that performs for donations to local charities.
"Every concert the Balmoral Chamber Orchestra has had and will have involves benefitting others," McCoy said. "We are not interested in getting paid. We are interested in making music together for the sake of making music, not because of an academic requirement or to pay the bills. And we mean to use our talents to help others."
Established with an inaugural concert on March 31, the Balmoral Chamber Orchestra was 14 months in the making. Today, it is made up of about 80 percent University of Memphis students, a handful of local professionals and a few local high school students.
Miguel Lesmes, first year musical arts doctoral candidate in violin performance, said he first began playing with the group at its breast cancer benefit concert, "Pink for Memphis," in October.
Being a part of a volunteer orchestra is rewarding, Lesmes said, because the musicians are there because they are passionate about the music and cause, not because they are getting paid.
"Every person must be in it for some reason; those reasons would be to either contribute towards charity or simply to enjoy making music," he said. "This is very rare to find among musicians of such high caliber, and I really enjoy playing with this orchestra because it reminds me of why I wanted to be a musician in the first place."
McCoy said he has dreamed of becoming a conductor since he was quite young. He said his passion comes from the human connections he shares through music.
"Mostly, my longing to be a conductor comes from my incessant need to have a voice, to make connections and share feelings with other human beings, and to express myself," he said. "I cannot think of a stronger way to be human than to make music, and to make it with other people."
McCoy, a junior music performance major and premedical student, spends 23 hours in class - mostly science and math courses in preparation for medical school - and works between 12 to 18 hours each week as a pharmacy technician.
He said being a conductor is far different from how he imagined it. He compares it to taking on a second job.
"It's incredibly time consuming, but I love doing it," he said.
He spends between 10 to 40 hours studying a piece of music before rehearsing it with the orchestra.
"I work until I feel that everything is virtually memorized, as realistically as it can be, to ensure that rehearsals go as efficiently and as smoothly as possible," he said.
By the time the Balmoral Chamber Orchestra's first concert approached, it stood at approximately 40 members strong.
"We performed with a more-than-packed house," McCoy said. "It was one of the greatest experiences of my life."
The performance, "Music for Memphis," served as a benefit concert to start "A Music for the People," a program that provides free violin lessons and materials to inner-city children. The concert raised thousands of dollars and "was able to easily start that program," McCoy said.
Lesmes said watching McCoy serve as a conductor while still in college proves he has great ambition.
"This shows his great passion for music-making, and it's really enjoyable to play with a conductor who is about music-making and not money-making," he said. "I've played with both types of conductors, but my experience with Zachary taught me that his passion is for making music and building friendships."
McCoy spent his freshman year of college at the University of Tennessee at Martin as a percussion performance major where he studied under Julie Hill, director of percussion studies and associate professor of music at UT-Martin.
"He was an outstanding student," she said. "His musicianship is in the top percentile, which makes him a great musician and a sensitive conductor."
When Hill heard of McCoy's endeavor of starting a volunteer orchestra that performs for charitable donations, she wasn't surprised.
"He is an entrepreneur," she said. "He created a marimba choir his freshman year. He wanted to increase the overall musicianship of students here at UT."
McCoy's first ensemble start-up, named the "7AM Marimba Choir" after the group's early morning meeting time each week, was successful and well-received.
After graduation, McCoy said he plans to become a medical doctor who continues to make music and give back to the community.
"No matter which city I end up [in] after Memphis, I intend to have some sort of semi-professional orchestra, like the Balmoral Chamber Orchestra, that will serve a very similar purpose for the community," he said.
Originally from Trenton, Tenn., McCoy said he believes in giving back to all communities.
"Throughout my life, I've heard a lot of people speak about going out into the world and being educated and cultured and then coming back and giving back to your community," he said. "But my question is, why don't we give to all communities we become apart of?"
McCoy said the Balmoral Chamber Orchestra is the start of positive change in Memphis.
"The changes are like pebbles being dropped into a pond," he said. "It's impossible to know where the ripples are going and just how much they'll affect other parts of the pond. And we may not always see where the ripples end up, but we are certain that we are at least the start of positive ripples in Memphis."
If you go
What: Balmoral Chamber Orchestra's "Food for Memphis" concert
When: Dec. 1 at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Balmoral Presbyterian Church at 6413 Quince Road
Details: All donations will benefit "A Taste of Hunger," a grassroots effort to educate, motivate and engage citizens in a hands-on effort to halt hunger in Memphis.
