Jack Van Zandt (12/08/1954), an American composer, from Honolulu (Hawaï), with a traditional music education and international experience, he writes for instrumental and vocal ensembles, music theater, dance and electroacoustic formats. Born in Honolulu in 1954, Van Zandt grew up in California. He became a musician early in life and plays saxes, keyboards and guitar. He received his BA in Music Composition, Theory and Analysis in 1976 from the College of Creative Studies, University of California Santa Barbara where he studied traditional composition with Peter Racine Fricker and Thea Musgrave and electronic music composition with Emma Lou Diemer.