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 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 theater and ballet and served as Music Director for national and international events. Ms. Mooke’s diverse schedule includes touring, clinics and lecture demonstrations.  She has toured internationally as a member of  Barbra Streisand's acclaimed orchestra during the North American 2006 and European 2007 tours.   Ms. Mooke's genre-defying recordings,  Enharmonic Vision, her solo debut CD, and  Cafe Mars  with guitarist Randolph Hudson, III, as the duo "Bowing", have attracted wide critical acclaim. 

Since 2001, Ms. Mooke and her avant-garde string quartet, the Scorchio Quartet have performed at the Tibet House Benefit Concerts at Carnegie Hall with David Bowie, Philip Glass, Patti Smith, Michael Stipe, David Byrne, Moby, Lou Reed, Trey Anastasio, Ziggy Marley, Rufus Wainwright, and the Kronos Quartet.  Scorchio appears on David Bowie's 2002 release Heathen.  Ms. Mooke played in the U.S. premiere of Paul McCartney's "Standing Stone" at Carnegie Hall and on numerous film scores by Philip Glass.  She has also performed  with   Bon Jovi on "MTV Unplugged", Enya, Andrea Bocelli, Luciano Pavarotti, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Marc Anthony Thompson,  Al DiMeola, John Cale, Anthony Braxton, the Orchestra of  St. Luke’s, and the Soldier String Quartet.  She  has performed on Regis Live!, the David Letterman, The View, Late Night with Conan O’Brien and Rosie O'Donnell shows and currently plays in the Broadway pit orchestras of Wicked and Spamalot.  

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.  

"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

"Mookestueck, written for the electric 5-string viola of local string whiz Martha Mooke...Mooke's performance is superb and impassioned. - WaterfrontWeek