Avery Carter '21
A L U M N I C O L U M N
Zac Towbes graduated Cate in 2017 went on to the Berkeley School of Music where he majored in Electronic Production and Design. He now has a career in which he writes audio software.
Ashleigh Mower for Cate School
“I loved my time at Cate. I grew a lot. I learned a lot.”
Recently, I interviewed Zac Towbes on his Cate experience and how it affected him and led him to where he is today. He offers some guidance and wisdom on how we can find time to do the things we enjoy even within our busy Cate schedules. Below are Towbes’ responses to the questions I asked when we met via Zoom.
What were you able to get from Cate?
I got a job through Mr. McFarlane and that connection has really got me through so much- from Cate to my job now. In reality, when I think about what Cate gave me I could've gone to music school without taking English and History classes at Cate. Dr. Kellogg taught a computer science class and I don’t know what I would be doing now without it. I wouldn’t have been able to do the things I do now.
Could you share your favorite memory from your time at Cate?
The entire second time I went to Yosemite. I went as a senior. The funniest part was that I brought a little handheld tape recorder and I had recorded a bunch of songs onto it and Ms. Salcedo, who was also my advisor, was the pod leader. And I was like that bad influence senior. Like everyone was dragging behind and I was walking with them and I was just playing music and Ms. Salcedo got very mad at me. And that was also my seminar, I was a TA. And still now people are like, what was that song on the cassette in Yosemite?
What were you involved in at Cate? I was mostly involved in music. I played in a jazz band. I was involved in the orchestra, except I never showed up. I was in the percussion section so genuinely most of the time I was sitting around. I was in the studio my freshman year and that was being built so that was something I helped build and work on. Mr. Knecht helped build that studio out. We learned a lot by not knowing anything about the equipment when we first got it. I did tennis. I was a day student so I hung out in the day room--the entire blue ewe next to Newsome’s office. I was in the first class of Varsity Arts, so independent arts. So I did cross-country my freshman year and I was not built for it. I got shin splints the first week. I couldn’t run for the rest of the year so I had time from three to five everyday. So I started practicing piano--I was really serious at the time. So I ended up just practicing off the record. The next year I was essentially falling back in piano and asked if I could continue practicing instead of doing a sport. They needed an option for the arts. I think it’s incredibly valuable.
Mr. Knecht recently spoke about Zac Towbes. He says “Zac was a talented guitarist, singer, bassist, pianist and photographer during his time at Cate. Always interested in technology, he helped to launch Cate School's earliest recording studio which was located in a closet-sized classroom space in the theater upper mezzanine. His senior inquiry project was focused on the question of what sounds good to people and why? Zac also embraced the early versions of Cate's computer science classes and chose to merge those passions at Berklee College of Music and graduated early with a degree in recording studio production. As we built Cate's new recording studio, Zac's input was primarily about the curriculum, making sure we were able to scaffold the experience for beginners and experts alike. It's exciting to see a student with strengths in so many areas bring them together and turn them into a successful career.”
I admire Towbes because he was able to find balance in the things he spent time doing at Cate. We should all look towards Towbes’ admiration of the arts and learn from his ability to find time to do the things he loves.
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