Martha Mooke

Martha Mooke is an American electro-acoustic violist, working regularly as a performer, composer and educator. She is known for her artistry, music advocacy, and educational programs, enhancing her traditional viola training with extended techniques, improvisation, and technology.. https://www.srqmagazine.com/articles/570/Mooke--the-Maverick%3C/string
===Biography===
Born in Manhattan and raised in the Bronx and Staten Island, Mooke was educated in the New York City Public School system. She credits the excellent music programs at PS 4 and IS 34 as being formative to her musical development and career as a composer, performer, and educator.https://www.uft.org/news/feature-stories/noteworthy-graduates/noteworthy-graduates-martha-mooke-electro-acoustic-violist
 Mooke began playing viola in elementary school, choosing the instrument because "most everybody wanted to play the violin." During her senior year at Tottenville High School, she discovered the music of Jean-Luc Ponty, Laurie Anderson, and the Kronos Quartet; exposure to these pioneering modern string players was inspirational to Mooke, who was determined to incorporate their innovative techniques and sounds in her own playing. https://www.lohud.com/story/life/2015/12/03/violist-has-had-electrifying-career/75579898/
 She continued her undergraduate education at SUNY-Albany https://www.albany.edu/musicandtheatre/music-alumni
, graduate study at University of Massachussetts-Amherst https://www.linkedin.com/in/marthamooke
, and remains a fierce advocate for public music education. 
===Composer/Performer===
Mooke has appeared on television multiple times, including features on The Tonight Show, The Late Show with David Letterman, Regis Live, The View, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and The Rosie O’Donnell Show. https://www.albany.edu/musicandtheatre/music-alumni
===Education/Advocacy===
Well known for her educational programs https://www.lohud.com/story/life/2015/12/03/violist-has-had-electrifying-career/75579898/
, Mooke regularly presents clinics and workshops at national and regional conferences including PopTech https://poptech.org/conference/
, Midwest Clinic, ASTA (American String Teachers Association), NAMM (National Association Of Music Merchants), JEN (Jazz Education Network), NYSSMA (New York State School Music Association) and IAJE (International Association for Jazz Education)https://www.newjerseystage.com/articles2/2022/02/07/njcu-presents-igniting-the-imagination-an-evening-of-music-and-exploration-of-david-bowies-creative-process/
.
Mooke’s clinics encourage young string players to reconsider traditional genre boundaries and access their own unique musical voice, focusing on improvisation and technology. Her approach to performance and musicianship has been helpful to participants working to overcome learned barriers and break through their own artistic inhibitions https://newmusicusa.org/nmbx/martha-mooke-walls-windows-and-doors/
.
Mooke is the founder of multiple educational programs, including:
Thru The Walls
Launched in January 2001, this club concert series was a showcase celebration of the juxtaposition of musical worlds. Produced with ASCAP, the project featured new music from composer-performers in a variety of musical genres. Rather than holding performances in a traditional concert hall, the series took place at Manhattan rock and jazz club The Cutting Room (link), a venue one would not typically associate with classical music. In addition to the unusual locale, having the official sponsorship and endorsement of ASCAP gave the event a level of status that drew in many distinguished names to the audiences, including David Bowie, with whom Mooke would go on to form a working relationship and friendship https://newmusicusa.org/nmbx/martha-mooke-walls-windows-and-doors/
.
Multi-Style Strings Symposium/Program 
In 2017, Mooke began her tenure at New Jersey City University as an adjunct professor, teaching a Contemporary Music class https://www.subitomusic.com/2022/09/27/composers-corner-martha-mooke/
. After a couple of years at the school, the department chair requested her assistance in recruitment for the string program, which had not been active for some time. 
Drawing from her own experience in a variety of musical genres, Mooke knew that a successful modern career required not only talent but the ability to market oneself, cultivate relationships, and create opportunities. Through her research into other non-traditional music programs, she found several music business programs offering valuable knowledge in those areas, many lacked the focus on performance she hoped to integrate. She also found that many string teachers were eager to incorporate new music and techniques into their classrooms but often lacked confidence, exposure to a variety of styles, or just didn’t quite know where to start. Mooke found herself wishing she’d had access in her youth to a program that would help prepare her for the kind of eclectic performing life she’d ended up carving out for herself, one that emphasized creative exploration, non-traditional performance techniques, and a melding of multiple musical styles, as well as entrepreneurship for performing musicians https://www.subitomusic.com/2022/09/27/composers-corner-martha-mooke/
. 
Mooke’s research ultimately culminated in her proposal for the “Multi-Style Strings Symposium,” a professional development event for string educators, intended as a resource and teaching tool for embracing all styles of music, improvisation, and available technology in the classroom https://www.subitomusic.com/2022/09/27/composers-corner-martha-mooke/
. The idea developed further into an official degree program (M.M. and B.A.) at New Jersey City University, where Mooke now serves the Multi-Style Strings program director in addition to her duties as Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Stringshttps://www.njcu.edu/academics/schools-colleges/william-j-maxwell-college-arts-sciences/departments/music-dance-and-theatre/graduate-programs/performance-multi-style-strings-mm
. 
Scorchio Quartet
At the request of David Bowie, Mooke assembled a string quartet, consisting of Gregor Kitzis (violin), Meg Okura (violin), Mary Wooten (cello) and herself (viola), to perform with Bowie at the Carnegie Hall as part of the 2001 Tibet House Benefit Concert, produced by Philip Glass. The event has remained a staple in Scorchio’s performance calendar; in 2003, following performances with David Bowie, Lou Reed, and Rufus Wainwright, the group became the de facto “house band” (along with the Patti Smith Band) for the annual charity concert https://thus.org/benefitconcert/ . Bowie was so impressed with Scorchio that he invited them to record with him on his upcoming album Heathen (released in 2002) https://newmusicusa.org/nmbx/martha-mooke-walls-windows-and-doors/
. Collaborations with a variety of other popular artists followed; the quartet has also recorded and performed with Trey Anastasio, Ziggy Marley, Angelique Kidjo, Linda Thompson, Dean and Britta, Charlie Winston, and Blur/Damon Albarn https://irreverencegroupmusic.com/community/scorchio-quartet 
===Discography===
Solo
Electroacoustic Viola from Sonic Collective, Splice Sounds, 2021
No Ordinary Window, Martha Mooke, 2015
Enharmonic Vision, Martha Mooke, 1997
With Bowing
Café Mars, Bowing, 2003
With other artists
Cheek To Cheek, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, 2014
Back to Brooklyn, Barbra Streisand, 2012
Live From Princeton, Trey Anastasio and the Scorchio Quintet, 2010
iSelect, David Bowie, 2008
Live in Concert, Streisand, 2006
Heathen, David Bowie, 2003
Evolution, Svjetlana Bukvich
Beginning of the Heartbreak, Peter Gordon + Love of Life Orchestra
Love is Love is Love, Julie Gold
Eat/Kiss; I Shot Andy Warhol; Basquiat, Walking on Locusts, John Cale
Clouds Over Eden, Richard Barone
Koyaanisqatsi; Kundun; Taking Lives, Philip Glass
Ziggy Marley - Dragonfly
Works: 1965-1995, Steve Reich
Starwatch, Al Reingold
Versatile Heart, Linda Thompson
All is Dream, Mercury Rev
Somehow We Can, Alvin Singleton
The Gunman and Other Stories, Prefab Sprout
L'Avventura, Britta Phillips/Dean Wareham (of Luna)
Fortune Cookies, Alana Davis
Sufi Kirtan, Hu Dost
Don Cartagena, Fat Joe
Endangered Species, Big Pun
Vitamin C, Vitamin C
Whereabouts, Ron Sexsmith
Transcience, Joel Feigin
Actual Size, Muzzle
Mind Control, Yonchae
Headtrip in Every Key, Superdrag
The Great Works for Voice, Luciano Berio
Electronic Music Foundation - State of the Union 2.001
Anthony Braxton's Tricentric Orchestra - Trillium R: Shala Fears For The Poor (opera)
Lauryn Hill
Ryuichi Sakamoto
The Orchestra (former members of ELO)
Klezmer Concertos & Encores Milken Archive of American Jewish Music
Alternative Styles in the Classroom
Alternative Strings: The New Curriculum
===Compositions===
Solo works
Heroes Phantasy (5:00), 2021 for electric viola
Platycotis IX (4:33), 2020 
Metachrosis (10:26), 2020
The Soul of the Gold Knight (7:00), 2018 for piano and looper
BLING ON! (7:00), 2016 	
Dreaming in Sound (50:00), 2016
Two Windows (5:35), 2015 
Prajnaparamita: The Perfection of Transcendent Wisdom (25:00), 2014 
No Ordinary Window (15:00), 2014 
REM: A Dream in Sound (15:00), 2014
Pegasus Takes Flight (5:00), 2013 
Sympathetic Vibrations (4:00), 2011 for electric viola 
ICE 4 (12:00), 2009 for electric viola 
Omotion (3:00), 2009 for electric viola 
Future Prayer (10:00), 2008 for electric viola 
Stories Retold (37:00), 2004 for electric viola 
as the Phoenix (8:30), 2001 for solo octave violin 
S.O.T.U. (1:00), 2001 for electric viola 
Virtual Corridors (8:00), 1999 for electric viola 
Enharmonic Vision, rev. (5:56), 1997 for electric viola 
Terminal Baggage (7:00), 1996 for electric viola 
Raindance (5:00), 1993 for electric viola 
Enharmonic Vision (1:00:00), 1993 for electric viola and harmonizer
News (3:00), 1993 for electric viola 
Drifting (6:00), 1993 for electric viola 
Awaken (3:15), 1993 for electric viola 
Bones (5:15), 1993 for electric viola 
Fanfare, 1992 for electric viola
Ensemble
Burning Down Brandenburg #3 (4:00), for string orchestra and continuo (2021)
Ode to Ganymede (4:30), for voices, piano, drums, strings (2020)
Cafe Mars (6:00), for string orchestra (2019)
Invisible Hands (15:00), for electric viola and chamber orchestra (2018)
Beats Per Revolution, for electric viola, beatboxer and chamber ensemble (2017)
Kayomatique (6:30), for concert band and improvising soloist (2017)
Lucid dreaming (5:00), for electric violin or viola (2016)
Meditations on Gate, Gate (11:25) (2015)
Skandhas (14:00), for symphonic wind ensemble (2015)
Virtual Corridors II (8:00), for electric viola and string orchestra (2015)
Dreams in Sound (15:00), for electro-acoustic string quartet (2014)
(S)HORT (M)ESSAGE (S)ERVICE (H)IDDEN (S)IGNS (5:20), for orchestra (2013)
Ode to Ganymede (5:30), for chorus and mixed ensemble (2013)
Plumeria, Bauhinia & Tabebuia (13:00), for electric viola and laptop ensemble (2013)
X-ING (15:00), for electric viola and concert band (2012)
Dragons and Aquarians (45:00), for electric viola and voice (2012)
Quantum for Quintet (8:00), for string quintet (2011)
Booker T's Pachelbel (6:00), for beginning string orchestra (2011)
Three Phases (10:00), for string quartet (2010)
e-chi (24:00), for electric viola & percussion quartet (2010)
Strings, Sticks and Skins (9:00), for electric viola & percussion quartet (2010)
ThingThing (3:00), for soprano, Bb clarinet, tenor saxophone, percussion, violin, cello (2009)
Elusive Illusions (9:30), for electric violin & electric viola (2009)
Bartokosmos (6:00), for klezmer violin, electric viola, electric guitar, drums (2007)
B+C=D (50:00), for electronic keyboard, electric guitar, electric viola (2005)
Tanzmetric Modulation (8:00), for klezmer clarinet, klezmer violin, electric viola, tango bass (2005)
VIOLA X-TREME, for electronic drumkit, 2 electric violin, 2 electric viola (2004)
Circa 5 (15:00), for string quartet with piano (2004)
Avatar (10:00), for string orchestra (2003)
Quantum for Quartet (14:00), for electric string quartet (2003)
Lost Galaxy (10:00), for electric viola, electric guitar (2002)
Lost Galaxy Live (40:00), for electric viola, electric guitar, live sampler (2002)
Double Take (12:00), for viola; electric viola (2001)
Café Mars (15:20), for electric guitar, electric octave violin, electric viola (1999)
Quantum (14:00), for electric guitar, electric viola (1998)
Interior Motives, for mixed ensemble (1997)
Static (7:00), for electric guitar, pedal steel guitar, electric viola (1997)
After the Fall (33:00), for acoustic viola, electric violin, electric viola (1997)
Dreamcatcher II (8:30), for voice, electric viola, electric cello, electric guitar (1996)
No Problem (10:00), for voice, viola, cello, electric guitar (1996)
Rambla (7:00), for violin, viola, cello (1995)
Taking Chances (4:00), for electric octave violin (1995)
Feminine Instincts (12:00), for viola (1995)
random acts... (14:00), for flute, violin, viola, cello, double bass, percussion (1995)
Dreamcatcher, for electric string trio (1995)
Conversion, for electric viola, oboe, percussion (1994)
Winds of Arden, for electric viola, percussion (1994)
Bienvenida, for electric viola, marimba (1993)
Unbalanced Symmetry, for violin, viola, cello, vibes, timpani, congas and tamtam (1993)
Ninnu Juci III, for dancer, string ensemble (1993)
Wavelength, for voice and mixed ensemble (1992)Theater, dance, and film
The Boy Detective, from Cinema’s First Nasty Women, film (2022)
Toulouse’s Dreams Ballet, ballet (2022)
Stories My Mother Told Me by Nusrat Durrani, non-fiction film. Composer (2018)
Z-Born, short science fiction film. Composer (2018)
Don't Mind Me, short fiction film. Composer (2018)
Switched, short fiction film. Composer (2015)
Past, part 1 miniseries based on Uncle Tom's Cabin. Music and performance (2014)
Art on Everest, sound design. Online biography of Ranan Lurie (2010)
Girl on a Bed, feature film. Additional music (2006)
No Child is Somebody Else's Child, promotional campaign (2005)
Fading Light (60:00), film documentary by Ian Ross (2004)
Two (2:00), filmcue, full orchestra (2002)
Cycle (14:00), ballet (1998)
Interior Motives An Interactive Game (32:00), mixed ensemble (1997)
A Zero Degree (90:00), original music for theatre (1995)
Negatives of an Inhibition, for electric viola, poet and dancer (1992)
Category:People from Manhattan
Category:American violinists
Category:Performance art
Category:Composers
Category:Educators