Charting New Courses:
How Passions Became Professions
With a dynamic sense of style, her multi-disciplinary artistry, and her adventurous background, Zoe Pančić is a Greek-American musician who seeks to use her talent and life experiences to create immersive, meaningful art and narratives to share with the world.
Her life path has been unconventional: Zoe grew up in Boston, Massachusetts with a love of film scores and Irish fiddle. After graduating with her Bachelors degree in 2020, she stepped away from academia and music to work as deckhand aboard tall ships in the United States. She has sailed commercially and done shipyard maintenance for almost four years, interspersed with leading community orchestras and folk bands during the winter seasons.
She began her musical career in Portland, Maine in 2021, where she worked for the Portland Symphony Orchestra and nonprofit organization Portland Ovations as their house manager and artist coordinator. This brought her back into the classical music world, where she continues to this day.
As a conductor
Zoe started her conducting education in the United States under the mentorship of Dr. Yutaka Kono and Emily Issacsson before continuing in Sofia, Bulgaria, where she quickly distinguished herself as an artist by bringing an androgynous, bold, and elegant professional style to her appearance and movement as a conductor.
She has been taught by esteemed conductors such as Derek Gleeson, Christo Pavlov, Malcolm Yuen, Vincent de Kort, and Andrew Berryman, where she discovered a love of musical and big band conducting. She has worked with the Vratsa Symphony Orchestra, the Pleven Choir, the Jazz Ensemble of the National Academy of Music in Sofia, and members of the Sofia Ballet for a well rounded view of conducting. Zoe made her professional conducting debut in July 2025 with members of the Sofia Opera and Sofia National Theater in Europe, where she is currently based.
She has experience in symphonic and contemporary conducting, including musicals, jazz, ballet, film score, concerto, and opera.
As a violinist
Zoe began as a classical violinist at age 9, and has continued playing for over a decade. In her youth she performed in award-winning ensemble groups before continuing on to become principal second violinist in several collegiate orchestras. Her classical repertoire spans from iconic pieces such as New World Symphony, Romeo and Juliet, Firebird and much more.
Beyond symphonic performance, she is well versed in a myriad of fiddle styles including Celtic, Appalachian and contra, Balkan/Arabic, and traditional Malay music. Her more rugged and improvisational style is very inspired by the Irish band "Solas," German folk group "Versengold," and a strong bluegrass background from living in the United States.
From festivals to concert halls, has been a soloist for many traditional folk groups around the US and Europe. She has performed alongside viral vocal group "The Wellermen" and made her first appearance on Bulgarian National Television with the band "The Drive of Music," a multi-genre folk pop group with a love for sea shanties.
As a tall ship sailor
Most often, Zoe is recognized for her time as an accomplished tall ship sailor. From 2020-2024 she was a deckhand and first mate on several traditionally rigged vessels in the United States, where she has traveled the entirety of the East Coast of the US. She has written several personal essays about her experience and was interviewed by nonprofit organization Queerly Maine for her thoughts on gender, identity, and comradery in a niche industry. Her work as a musician found its start when she became a fiddle player in residence upon the same ships she worked aboard. She now continues to play working songs/shanties in groups around Europe as an educator and performer in this small but beloved field.
More about her experiences can be found in the tabs above.
Beyond her music, Zoe Pančić is also an accomplished artist, writer, and activist, working on collaborate fiction projects and her own personal pieces. More about this can be found her in her contact information.
She currently resides in London.
Education
2024-25
Masters in Conducting
American College Dublin
A year long masters program studying 10 different genres of conducting, including symphonic, concertos, jazz, big band, ballet, musicals, and opera conducting. Weekly podium time ensured constant exposure to real conducting and mimicked a professional work environment.
2016-20
Bachelors of Political Science and Art
The University of Vermont
Political science degree with a concentration with environmental justice, with a minor in studio art. 4 years of experience playing with the University of Vermont Symphony Orchestra.
2019
Bachelors Degree
University College Dublin
Studied Irish politics and Irish music as part of Bachelors Degree in Dublin, Ireland during abroad program.