Zak Stillwell is a full-time visual designer, instructor, and clinician based out of the San Francisco Bay Area. His pageantry career spans two decades, with performance and instructional credits in the world’s top marching ensembles.
From 2008-2011, Stillwell was a performer and soloist with the Concord Blue Devils. Upon aging out, he continued within the organization as an instructor for the ‘A,’ ‘B,’ and ‘C’ corps. Zak's work as a designer and caption head with the Blue Devils 'B' Corps helped elevate them from perennial Open Class contender to two Top 15 World Class finishes in 2014 and 2016. As an instructor and performer, Stillwell has helped earn seven DCI World Championships and best visual awards. Since 2019, Zak has served as the visual caption head for the Blue Knights. In 2022, he concurrently worked with Pacific Crest as their drill designer.
Outside of the drum corps activity, Zak works as an instructor and designer with many award-winning high school marching bands. Some of the groups he has had the pleasure of working with include James Logan HS, Homestead HS (Cupertino), and Amador Valley HS. His design work for WGI percussion ensembles is regularly featured in World Class finals. Notable percussion clients include Homestead HS (Cupertino), Etiwanda HS, and Leigh HS.
Zak is incredibly fortunate to have grown up learning from and working with many of the greatest minds in the marching arts. In addition to his pageantry experience, Stillwell studied music education and euphonium performance at the University of Arizona, under the instruction of Dr. Kelly Thomas.