Martha Mooke is a pioneer in the field of the electric five string viola/violin. She has developed a unique musical voice by synthesizing her classical music training with extended techniques, digital effects processing and improvisation, while retaining the depth and soul of the instrument. A Yamaha Performing Artist, she is a leading clinician on electric strings and alternative approaches to playing including the use of electronics, extended techniques and improvisation.
She has toured internationally as a member of Barbra Streisand's acclaimed orchestra, with Peter Gabriel’s "New Blood Tour 2010" and throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico with "Star Wars: In Concert". She is founder/violist of the avant-garde string quartet, Scorchio. They recently performed a sold-out show with Trey Anastasio at Princeton University's acoustically brilliant Richardson Auditorium leading to the recording "Live from Princeton".
Ms. Mooke and Scorchio have performed at the Tibet House Benefit Concerts at Carnegie Hall with David Bowie, Philip Glass, Patti Smith, Michael Stipe, David Byrne, Iggy Pop, Regina Spektor, Moby, Lou Reed, Trey Anastasio, Ziggy Marley, Rufus Wainwright, and the Kronos Quartet. Scorchio appears on David Bowie's 2002 release Heathen. She has also performed with Bon Jovi on "MTV Unplugged", played with Enya, Andrea Bocelli, Luciano Pavarotti, Tony Bennett, Chocolate Genius, John Cale, Anthony Braxton, among others. She has appeared on Regis Live!, the David Letterman, The View, Late Night with Conan O’Brien and Rosie O'Donnell shows.
Ms. Mooke's genre-defying recordings, her solo Enharmonic Vision, and Bowing’s Cafe Mars with guitarist Randolph Hudson, III, have attracted wide critical acclaim.
She has received awards from ASCAP, Meet the Composer and Arts International among others. Besides her catalog of works for solo and ensemble electric strings, she has composed music for film, theater and ballet. Ms. Mooke received an ASCAP 2001 Concert Music Award for creating and producing ASCAP's new music showcase THRU THE WALLS featuring composer/performers whose work defies categorization.
Rave Reviews!
"The Scorchio String Quartet played "Quantum" by the quartet's leader and violist, Martha Mooke, with songful melodies accompanied by tremulous chords and Asian-flavored glissandos". - Jon Pareles, The New York Times
"With her white hair and blue five-stringed viola, Mooke is a striking figure, with a Terry Riley-ish array of electronic enhancements and a wider range of styles (from Cagean to minimalist to free jazz and beyond) than many improvisers can boast." - The Village Voice
"In performance, a relatively traditional-sounding solo passage will give way to a mesmerizing mood sequence and then, seemingly, half an electronic orchestra has arrived - but it's all her." - Staten Island Advance
"Mooke shows off both an impressive dynamic range and a drop-dead-gorgeous tone on her custom five-string electric viola. In her hands, the instrument can sound like a keyboard synthesizer, a guitar, or even a saxophone. … she seems to be able to translate almost any musical impulse into sound." - Alternative Press
"The very original Martha Mooke uses space age musical colors and patterns, with her five-string electric viola leading the way, altogether exotic, hypnotic, and personal." - The Wax Works
Read more...