Meet Zach Galindo Executive Director – Lake Highlands School Of Music | Musician and Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Zach Galindo Executive Director – Lake Highlands School Of Music and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Zach Galindo, how do you think about risk?
Risk has played a major role in my professional life and career and is perhaps the most important factor in me becoming a successful entrepreneur. Risk creates some inherent discomfort for all of us, depending on our mentality and our makeup. I consider my tolerance for risk to be somewhat average. Risk creates uncertainty and I have had to train myself to deal with uncertainty more healthily over the years. I have always tried to maintain a mentality of, “If you can, you must,” and I knew I could build the schools successfully. So while my tolerance to risk was simply average, my rational sense and will is largely what compelled me to grow. There have been several main risks that have been integral to the arc of my journey.

1. The decision to forego a traditional music educator path of teaching in public schools. I joined a touring band while in college that played around 150 shows per year and chose to work hourly. It was tough at times but played with them for 11 years and the experience proved invaluable for sculpting a vision to how music education could look.

2. The decision to open the first brick and mortar school store front. I went to the bank, provided tax returns, and asked for the largest line of credit possible. I put all my personal expenses on a credit card for a couple of years and maxed out that business line until we got profitable. That location had 4 working “teaching area” or rooms.

3. The decision to move to Creekside Shopping Center, which houses Alamo Drafthouse in Lake Highlands in 2019. I requested an increase to my main line of credit and took out another one through a different bank. That new space is where we currently reside and have 10 amazing teaching areas, including a large rehearsal room where our Performance Program students rehearse in a band setting. Covid hit several months after we moved so that is an entire conversation unto itself and was of course very interesting.

4. The move to Oak Cliff. We started a new school in Oak Cliff in 2022 in the amazing Arts Mission Oak Cliff facility.

I never chose to get investors, so over the last 10 years I had to take 100 percent responsibility for all of my decisions and I made plenty of mistakes. It’s a somewhat comical reality that we really only seem to be sculpted by failure and learn best through them. The risk, the decisions, and the journey they have taken me on has been an absolute adventure, though the white and gray hairs are starting to show. It’s been so interesting to put this into words, so I thank you for the opportunity.

What should our readers know about your business?
We provide modern music instruction for modern people. This encompasses not only traditional classical music, but jazz, rock, hip-hop, pop, rhythm and blues, funk, and country. We have students intensely preparing for competitions such as the Cliburn, but we realize that many of our students will simply have music as a meditative tool of expression after their season of study with us. Our commitment is to bring music to life in the minds of each of our students, and we acknowledge that each student has different core values, struggles, and reasons for choosing to pursue the study of music. There is no “one size fits all” formula for effective teaching, and we seek to provide adaptive relational learning for each unique student.

Lastly, the culmination of what Lake Highlands School of Music offers is our Performance Program. The program places your student in a band with young musicians of similar ability. Each band rehearses, records, writes, and performs with their band, led by a professional performance coach in a range of modern musical styles. We perform regularly throughout the year at venues like Vector Brewing Company, Deep Ellum Art Co, and The Arboretum Amphitheater

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
-A bike ride around White Rock Lake and the surrounding trails
-Oysters and drinks at Hudson House
-A stroll through of the Arboretum to see the beautiful foliage and flora
-A hot yoga class at Pure Yoga Dallas
-Pho and cuisine at Ngon Vietnamese Kitchen
-A hike at Cedar Ridge Preserve
-Tapas at Sketches of Spain in Bishop Arts
-A walk through Freedman’s Cemetery Memorial
-Live jazz at Reveler’s Hall and Balcony Club
-Catching a concert at the Granada Theater and the Kessler Theater

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My amazing family, friends, bandmates, and fellow music and artistic collaborators over the years. All of the teachers and amazing staff that have chosen to help the company and continue to provide fantastic music instruction.

Website: https://www.lakehighlandsmusic.com

Instagram: @lakehighlandsmusic

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LakeHighlandsMusic/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@lakehighlandsmusic