A sought-after vocalist and performer in the Washington, D.C. area, baritone Zachary Barger has performed across the United States, including performances at Carnegie Hall, NPR Tiny Desk, the Lincoln Center, Arena Stage, the White House, the Kennedy Center, and the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheater. He has additionally performed abroad with the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, D.C. at the Various Voices festival in Bologna and Brussels.

In the 2026/27 season, Zac will be making an exciting role and company debut with Bel Cantanti Opera as the Page in Amahl and the Night Visitors (Menotti), as well as singing with the Annapolis Opera Chorus in productions of Gilbert and Sullivan’s beloved Pirates of Penzance and Verdi’s Rigoletto. For more on the upcoming season, please visit the Schedule page. 

Zac has been singing and acting for more than 20 years, beginning with professional regional theater in Grand Junction, Colorado at age nine. He made his professional opera debut last season with L'Opéra Comique de Washington with comprimario roles in Les mousquetaires au couvent (Varney) and L’étoile (Chabrier). He shortly thereafter attended Bel Canto in Tuscany, where he performed the role Germano in La scala di seta (Rossini) and in the chorus of Suor Angelica (Puccini). A versatile musician, he regularly performs opera, oratorio, and music theater. Some favorite credits include Die Fledermaus (Strauss), the bass soloist in Beethoven’s Mass in C Major, and Jamie in The Last Five Years (Brown). 

Recent highlights include providing backup vocals for the band Guster’s NPR Tiny Desk concert; singing as a guest soloist for Cantate Chamber Singer’s Considering Matthew Shepard (Johnson); the mid-Atlantic region debut of A Peacock Among Pigeons (in which he played the fabulous Craig the Cardinal); and performing with GMCW at Carnegie Hall. His frequent appearances in the GMCW Cabaret program have been praised by critics, calling him a “standout” and “moving” performer (Maryland Theatre Guide).

Current engagements include GMCW, the Rock Creek Singers, and St. Augustine Episcopal Church in Southwest DC, where he serves as cantor. As part of his commitment to GMCW, he has founded the GMCW Chamber Series, including the Singers’ Salon and the Evening of Chamber Music, which seeks to provide solo and group performance opportunities to members of the chorus who may not get them otherwise. He is cofounder of Chiaroscuro, a low-voice ensemble that focuses predominately on early choral music. His efforts as co-chair of the chorus’ annual fundraising gala raised more than $1 million for the organization. He is a recipient of the Artistic Director’s Outstanding Musician award, and he was inducted into the GMCW Circle of Excellence in 2025.

Zac holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he studied under Patrick Mason. Zac presently studies with the renowned bass Matthew Anchel. He earned an MPA from CU Denver and works as a budget analyst and performance improvement manager for the National Park Service. He is a hobby baker, lifelong film fan, and cat dad to Charles-François Claremont, who, despite being named after Gounod, prefers “Charlie.”