Zoe Starikov has been passionate about making music since she was a baby, using household items as musical instruments and enjoying her weekly Kindermusik classes.

​

She officially started her musical journey as a Chorister in NW Girlchoir at the age of 6 and then became a founding Bellevue Girlchoir chorister a few years later. There, she learned solfege, how to read music, all about rhythm and musicianship and quickly advanced through the choir levels thanks to the support and mentorship of the choir's Artistic Director at that time, Darcy Morrissey. Zoe was invited to sing in the NW American Choral Director's Association Children's Honor Choir in 2016 and attended numerous Choir Festivals across the Pacific Northwest. She also had the honor of working with some amazing voice teachers over the years including Jordyn Meeker, Laura Shepherd and Mary Jo DuGaw (her current voice teacher.) Going into her Freshman year, Zoe got into the auditioned Chamber Choir at Inglemoor High School under the direction of Ailisa Newhall and was invited to sing with the All-State Symphonic Choir at the All-Northwest Music Festival in Portland, Oregon in February, 2019. She recently auditioned and was invited to join the inaugural season of Seattle Girls Choir's new jazz and a capella ensemble, Sorella. She's looking forward to starting rehearsals with this group in the Fall (2019.)

 

In the 4th grade, she started playing the violin in her district's elementary orchestra and she was instantly hooked. She went on to teach herself to play the viola and cello and earned the honor of being the first chair in her Middle School's orchestra from 2016-2018. She participated in the Lake Washington School District's Honors Orchestra in January, 2018 and in the Junior All-State Orchestra in February, 2018 in Yakima, WA. Going into her Sophmore year, she was accepted into the auditioned Chamber Orchestra at Inglemoor High School which is primarily comprised of Junior and Senior musicians and looks forward to this new challenge. She also participated in the Seattle Rock Orchestra's Summer Intensive in July of 2019, where she learned some new skills playing Rock music on the violin!

 

As her passion for singing grew, she wanted to learn to play instruments that she could play while singing, so she taught herself to play the ukulele, piano and recently, the acoustic guitar and electric violin. Her goal is to learn to play as many instruments as she can!

 

After many years of singing in choirs and years of singing in her school's talent shows (including being one of only two 6th graders selected to participate in her Middle School's talent show), she realized that she was interested in solo singing and decided to move away from traditional choirs. In 2016, she auditioned for the VocalPoint! Seattle Girls Prep program and was selected as one of 11 girls to participate in this prestigious program. She completed the 2-year program in June of 2018 and is became a member of VocalPoint! Seattle under the direction of Joseph Crnko, after being promoted in July of 2018. As part of VocalPoint! Seattle, she had the opportunity to sing with the Seattle Symphonia during Lessons and Carols season, but in February, 2019, had the amazing opportunity to be one of 16 high schoolers to sing with the 6-time Grammy winning Celtic band, The Chieftains at Benaroya Hall, and with the Eagles at Climate Pledge Arena in 2021!

​

In the summer of 2017, she participated in the Rain City Rock Camp for GIrls where she formed a band, "O Whale," with 3 other young musicians and together, they wrote their first song, which they performed at the Crocodile Cafe in Seattle. She has been writing more songs since then and thanks to an amazing program offered at Inglemoor High School, she was able to record two of her original songs at Robert Lang Studio in March of 2019. She also co-wrote and recorded a song in 2021 with Jack Lessard, which will be released soon.

​

In 2017, she was selected to be in a pool of singers who perform the National Anthem at various University of Washington events and had the honor or singing at games including Men's and Women's Basketball, Women's Gymnastics, Women's Volleyball, Women's Soccer,  Baseball, Track and even a UW Softball NCAA Tournament game. She continues to sing for UW games. Zoe also had the honor of singing the National Anthem at the Seattle Reign FC home opener in April of 2018 at Memorial Stadium in Seattle, for several of their games during their 2021 season at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma and at their game at Lumen Field on Sunday, April 17th.

​

During the 2017-18 school year, she joined her Middle School's Jazz Band as their vocalist, which spurred a new love for the jazz genre; she also played the Vibraphone (a new instrument for her) in the jazz band. It led her to audition for the Manhattan School of Music's Summer Vocal Jazz program and was one of 8 vocalists selected to participate in this 3-week intensive program. She headed to New York City in July, 2018 where she had the opportunity to learn from an amazing group of jazz instructors and to sing and write music with some of the most accomplished young musicians from all over the world. 

​

While she is pursuing a degree is Psychological Sciences in college on her path to becoming a Psychiatrist, music will always be a huge part of her life. In September of 2022, she joined Noteriety, an accomplished, auditioned A capella group at the University of Arizona and hopes to continue singing with this talented group through her college years and have the opportunity to compete in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) competitions with Noteriety.

 

In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with friends, learning new instruments, and going on adventures with her two Pomeranians, Zelda and Ginger, and her family.

 

Read more about her musical accomplishments on her curriculum vitae.

​

Press:

Kirkland Reporter (December 6, 2017): Finn Hill Musicians Selected for All-State Honor Groups