Zoe Sarnak

Zoe Sarnak is a composer, lyricist and playwright. She graduated from Harvard University in 2009 magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology. She also completed a secondary concentration in Music, with a focus in music theory and composition while studying under contemporary classical composer Nicholas Vines. Zoe wrote the book, music and lyrics for The Quad an original rock musical, developed and performed at Harvard University. She received grants from the Harvard Office of Fine Arts and the Radcliffe Women’s Center for a workshop and a full production, which debuted at Harvard’s Loeb Experimental Theatre April 2009 to rave reviews from The Harvard Crimson. A New York workshop of The Quad produced by Broadway Theatre Studio, sponsored by the John W. Engeman Theater, began this summer and culminated in a fall showcase.

As an arranger, orchestrator and music director, Zoe has collaborated with artists such as Lilli Cooper, Kacie Sheik, Stephanie Umoh, Rachel Potter, Emma Hunton and Molly Swenson. Her music has been showcased in an array of concerts and benefits including NY Theatre Barn’s D-Lounge Showcase, Composers Sing Composers at Le Poisson Rouge, NYTB’s Women Composers Benefit, A Very MARY Holiday Gala at Playwrights Horizons and many more. Sarnak is a proud participant in the BMI Lehman Engel Workshop and recipient of a 2011 Song of the Year, Songwriting Contest Semi-Finalist Award. She also performs throughout the city with her band, TheWD.
Since The Quad Sarnak has written two new full-length musicals: A Lasting Impression, and Mixtape. A Lasting Impression was featured with two staged reading performances in East 3rd Productions 2010/2011 season. The show was named Pace New Musicals official 2012 selection and will receive 7 showcase performances at the Schaeberle Theater at Pace University (NYC), directed by Amy Rogers, the head of the Pace Musical Theatre department. In October 2011, Silent Street Productions presented a staged reading of Mixtape, and the piece slated for a workshop showcase in 2012.