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Zach Light-Wells is a choral conductor, music minister, and professional musician in Dallas.
Raised in the Carolinas, Zach Light-Wells fuses the sounds of his Appalachian roots with the music of sanctuaries, concert halls, and the urban South. Zach’s varied background and experiences allow for a unique blend of traditional hymns, familiar melodies, gospel, and folk music. In recent years, Zach has led music in a variety of worship settings, from small community churches to metropolitan congregations, national church gatherings to conferences and retreats.
In the Spring of 2020, Zach was called to First Presbyterian Church in downtown Dallas, where he currently serves as the Director of Music. In a letter to the congregation, his search committee affirmed Zach’s call, saying:
“We believe that Zach has been led to us, and us to him. Soon you will see what we recognized in him: a commitment to caring for the musicians with which he serves, a theology of worship and music rooted in the reformed tradition, an eagerness to learn, a vision for music as mission, and gifts as a musician that invite others to share their own.”
During his tenure, Zach has curated and cultivated a strong culture of communal music-making at First Presbyterian Church of Dallas. Each week, Zach crafts, orchestrates, and leads music across the FPC campus with a team of professional and volunteer musicians. From Bach to Fleetwood Mac, God is revealed in the multiplicity of musical offerings at FPC Dallas.
Under Zach’s leadership, the FPC Dallas Chancel Choir has prepared and performed variety of repertoire in the annual FPC Dallas Lessons and Carols, including works by James MacMillan, Herbert Howells, Craig Courtney, Sarah Quartel, Orjan Matre, Rosephyne Powell, Sergei Rachmaninov, Will Todd, Pavel Tschesnokoff, Dan Forrest, Stuart Nicholson, Elaine Hagenburg, Bob Chilcott, Morten Lauridsen, among others.
In addition, the chancel choir has performed several major works in concert, complete and excerpted. Most recently, the Chancel Choir performed Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace with members of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, accompanied by original artwork commissioned for the performance.
In October, 2023, the FPC Dallas Chancel Choir was the first church music ministry in the state of Texas to present Craig Hella Johnson’s poignant and important work Considering Matthew Shepard under Zach’s leadership and direction. The evening marked a new era of music-and-meaning-making for FPC Dallas, one in which musical storytelling might transform our understanding of God’s world, who our neighbors are, and who we are called to be.
While at FPC, Zach has developed and strengthened partnerships with numerous local performing arts organizations, including The Turtle Creek Chorale, The Dallas Street Choir, Voices of Change, The Arts District Chorale, Verdigris Ensemble, The American Guild of Organists, Orpheus Chamber Singers, Candlelight (by Fever), and others, bringing thousands of first-time guests to the FPC sanctuary each year.
From 2016–2020, Zach served as the Associate Director of Music at Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church in Dallas, Texas. On Sunday nights, Zach directed a band of instrumentalists and vocalists during the Worship at 5 contemporary service at Preston Hollow—a service that he helped launch in fall 2017. On Sunday mornings, Zach directed the Westminster Singers Youth Choir, the youth band, and occasionally conducted the sanctuary choir.
Outside of local congregations, Zach has provided music and planning leadership for a variety of conferences, including the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators (APCE) Annual Event, Montreat Youth Conferences, Radical Vocation (RADVO), The Presbyterian Association of Musicians (PAM) Worship and Music Conference, Next Conference, and Montreat College Conference. In 2027, Zach will serve as the Conference Worship Co-Musician for the Presbyterian Associations of Musicians Music in Worship Conference in Montreat, NC.
In Dallas, Zach has performed music in a variety of professional choral ensembles, including Orpheus Chamber Singers, the Verdigris choral ensemble, and the Southern Methodist University Chamber Singers.
Additionally, Zach has worked with numerous singer-songwriters, including long-time friend Sam Burchfield. On the road, Zach has shared the stage with various national touring acts, such as St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Ben Rector, and Noah Guthrie. In the studio, Zach has served in several roles, including producer, engineer, mixer, arranger, instrumentalist, and vocalist.
Zach earned his Master of Sacred Music (M.S.M.) from the Perkins School of Theology and Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University and holds a B.A. in Music from Presbyterian College.
Currently, Zach is serving as a Graduate Assistant and Teacher’s Assistant at Southern Methodist University, where is is earning a second master’s degree (M.M.) in Choral Conducting.
“I’ve known Zach since the summer of 2011, and I was immediately aware he was a serious musician and a multi-faceted instrumentalist. He’s non-anxious, at ease, thoughtful, and studied. He listens well, musically and to people, which inspires trust as a leader.'”
– Eric Wall, Director of Music, White Memorial Presbyterian Church
Former Assistant Professor of Sacred Music and Dean of the Chapel, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
“Zach is a fantastic musician. I would work with him any time. He is an excellent writer, an excellent speaker, and has excellent interpersonal skills. He doesn’t talk at you; he talks with you.“
– Dr. Christopher Anderson, Associate Professor of Sacred Music, Perkins School of Theology
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