Composer, cellist, cabaret artist, educator, mentor, podcaster and presenter, the increasingly uncategorizable Zoë Martlew travels the world as solo performer and has worked with some of the world’s most renowned contemporary music ensembles, chamber groups, improvisation, film, electronica, multi-media, pop, rock, dance and theatre companies and her own one woman show, Revue Z.
Described in the press as “dazzling, gleefully tawdry, nuanced, beautifully constructed, deeply funny, expertly rendered, and electrifying,” Zoë’s music has been performed worldwide at major venues including Aldeburgh Festival, Royal Festival Hall, Opera Holland Park, Linbury Studio Royal Opera House, Dark Music Days (Iceland), Tanglewood Contemporary Music Festival (US), and Wigmore Hall by leading artists including London Sinfonietta, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Marian Consort, Onyx Brass Ensemble, Riot Ensemble, Ben Goldscheider (horn), Camerata Pacifica, Nicholas Daniel (oboe), Alessandro Fischer (tenor), Lucy Schaufer (mezzo), Claire Booth (soprano), Mark Simpson (clarinet), Huw Watkins (piano), and the choir of Clare College Cambridge.
Zoë was selected to represent Britain in the 2024 ISCM World Music Days Festival, is composer in residence for Music@Malling Festival 2025/26, her debut disc as a composer releases on NMC Records winter 2025, and is published by Schott.
Much in demand as panel host, concert presenter, and speaker, Zoë is a regular guest on TV and radio, was judge on BBC TV’s Maestro, Young Musician of the Year, and Eurovision Song Contest. She studied at the Royal College of Music, Clare College, Cambridge, the Royal Academy of Music, and the Chopin Academy in Warsaw.