Jack Zizza | Four Years Later: A Liberal Arts Education
“My experiences through the Palace have profoundly shaped my creative process by giving me opportunities to collaborate with world class musicians, perform my own shows, and say yes to countless invitations. More than anything, it reinforced how important relationships and community building are to artistic growth.” - Jack Zizza | Colgate ‘26
PROJECT RELEASE: Jack Zizza Trio - Live At Palace Studio
Jazz Drummer, Colgate Graduate, and Palace Friend
First things first: congratulations to our friend Jack Zizza, who graduates from Colgate University this week.
Jack has been part of the Arts at the Palace community for four years now and it’s been a joy making music together. As a Freshman, Jack wandered into one of our early Saturday Jazz sessions and he’s been a meaningful contributor here ever since.
Eager to make his own projects, Jack gathered a few similarly capable jazz students and recorded the Wes Montgomery tune Fried Pies as part of a 2022 Live Music Video series called The Attic Sessions.
Under the seasoned tutelage and mentorship of drummer Mark Shiner and Associate Jazz Prof. Brian Stark, Jack has earned a number of recording credits on locally produced albums, sat in consistently as a drummer in Saturday Jazz sessions, ran the circuit of Hamilton Village live music bars with Jack & Friends Quartet, and opened for Colgate’s Spring Fest 2026 headliner Yung Gravy with his band Julius. “I even contributed to a movie soundtrack, something I never imagined would happen!” said Jack.
Jack Zizza ‘26 and Friends record a Wes Montgomery song Fried Pies as part of The Attic Series in 2023.
Jack grew up in Auburn, New York, in a house filled with music. His parents played a wide range of styles, and from an early age he found himself drawn to the drums. At six years old, he began lessons with a local jazz drummer - an early start that shaped the direction of his musical path. Over time, Jack became deeply influenced by drummers like Roy Haynes, Elvin Jones, Steve Gadd, and Jimmy Cobb. You can hear that range in the way he plays: never stiff, always listening, confident, but collaborative.
Jack first discovered Colgate during a campus tour in the middle of COVID. He immediately felt drawn to the campus and the sense of community. “That experience made my decision easy,” he says. “I applied Early Decision and was fortunate enough to be accepted.”
Since then, Hamilton has become more than a backdrop college town for his academic experience. It has become a place where he has grown as a musician, collaborator, and artist.
Diamonds Pearls & Girls Music Video by Colgate student Jieni Wu. Jack was the drummer and collaborator on a series of music videos and EP Release by Henry & The Tides in 2025.
That collaboration is at the heart of what Arts at the Palace continues to cultivate. For years, we have shared a meaningful, mutually beneficial relationship with Colgate University. Along with providing the facility that makes so much of this work possible, Colgate brings major live theater performances, national touring acts, and exceptional student-led programs into the Palace Theater.
In turn, Arts at the Palace has the privilege of supporting these young people as they grow as creators and community contributors. We offer a space beyond campus where they can collaborate with seasoned-working artists, explore and develop their creative practice in a professional environment, take artistic risks, and experience what it means to share their craft in a real-world setting.
Jack alongside his band Julius opening for Yung Gravy at Colgate’s 2026 Spring Fest.
Although the jazz scene with Mark Shiner first drew Jack in, he says the wide range of performances at the Palace over the past four years - from Argentine tango and blues to classical music and even sketch comedy“have created an artistic hub in Hamilton that has made it easy to grow both personally and artistically.”
“Arts at the Palace has been an invaluable part of my educational and creative journey at Colgate,” Jack says. “It’s an incredible resource for artists in the area, offering great opportunities for a small town.”
Jack Zizza & Friends final recording at the Palace Studio.
For Jack, the Palace was not just a stage. It was a place to meet a local network of people who were willing to encourage his work. He was able to try new projects and keep saying yes to creative opportunities. “Access to production support, studio space, and a strong local creative network has allowed me to expand my work in ways I never expected,” he says.
That kind of support matters.
A student may arrive at Colgate with talent, discipline, and ambition, but there is something different about being invited into a community of artists outside the classroom. It asks something more personal. It gives students a chance to practice not only performance, but artistic relationships - how to listen, how to collaborate, how to contribute, how to become part of a creative ecosystem.
For Jack, those relationships became central.
“My experiences through the Palace have profoundly shaped my creative process by giving me opportunities to collaborate with world class musicians, perform my own shows, and say yes to countless invitations” he says. “More than anything, it reinforced how important relationships and community building are to artistic growth.”
That is exactly the kind of community Arts at the Palace hopes to continue building with students and the wider Hamilton area.
We are grateful for Colgate’s partnership.
Grateful for the students who bring their gifts into the community.
Grateful when those students become more than performers on our stage - when they become friends.
Henry & The Tides EP Photo By Ryan John Lee
As Jack prepares to graduate, he recalls many memories from the Palace with him he will take with him.“These experiences have been deeply meaningful,” Jack says, “and will always stand out as defining parts of my journey as a musician.”
Jack, thank you for sharing your gifts with this community. Thank you for showing up with excellence, humility, and a great sense of humor. We are proud of you and we cannot wait to see where the music takes you next.
*Jack has been accepted at Syracuse University College of Law and will continue his studies next fall.
