Zola is a Billboard award winning singer-songwriter who has composed music and performed professionally for live audiences since childhood. She has recorded a number of original music CD’s for children on the Jollypop® Productions label.

Zola has developed a unique Educational Entertainment Program for Children which successfully enriches and enchants audiences of all ages. She has earned a stellar reputation as a sought after, much respected, dedicated teacher of music & drama in many schools and Creative Arts programs, both in the USA and abroad.

Through group classes and private lessons, she has successfully prepared children for musical auditions, dramatic performance and public speaking.

Zola as playwright, has composed and directed over a dozen mini~musicals and plays for school stage productions. She also writes customized songs for special occasions and personalized songs for that “special little someone”.

… getting to know Zola from childhood …

Zola was born in Cape Town, South Africa and according to those who knew her as a toddler, “she was singing long before she would talk!”. She began composing songs at the piano at a very young age and by the time she was a teenager, she had already had a number of her songs published.

Growing up, Zola saw every musical movie, show and theatrical play that she could, after which she would race home, humming the theme songs in her head. She would run to the piano where her little fingers would effortlessly play out those melodies and others she would just make up. Her direct introduction to children’s music came from listening to the recordings of Danny Kaye, Max Bygraves. Through the years, her musical influences included Barbara Streisand, The Carpenters, Barry Manilow and The Beatles, (to mention a few)….followed by Carol King, Sting, a few pop divas and the legendary jazz greats. Being the daughter of a world reknowned actress/singer/comedienne, Zola’s love of musical theater came naturally, as did her gifted talents as a singer and her natural ability to act.! Since the age of four, she was up on community bandstands at pavilions and fairgrounds, singing and dancing solo. She played the leading roles in all of her school productions and at age nine, was performing in local variety shows with “The Tripple Ripple” - a trio Zola formed with her two best buddies!

Besides her love of music, dogs, sunshine, mountains, ocean, friends and family, Zola deeply and truly adores children. During her college years, she began teaching music and drama classes and soon became the Director of the Educational Entertainment Centre where she developed her unique creative arts program for children of all ages. This fun program included music, song, storytelling, magic, movement, play-acting, dance, puppets, games, arts & crafts and more...

In May 1986, Zola immigrated to America and now lives in Newton, Mass. Here Zola continues to write, produce and direct children’s musicals and teach music and drama classes. In the short time she has been in New England, she has already earned a stellar reputation and is a much sought after teacher in local creative arts centers and schools. In 1992, at the persistence of children and parents alike, Zola began pressing recordings of her original songs. Zola also entertains children at birthday parties, family functions, fund-raisers and special events. (She was named “one of the best” entertainers in the Boston Parents Paper).

Zola has recorded three solo albums of original material for children, released by Jollypop® Productions in Newton, Massachusetts. These include "Jollypop Jive with Zola"(1992), "Hello Baby" - lullabies and more (1997) and "Zola's Jollypop Stagecoach" (2003).

performance style

Zola is a Billboard® award winning songwriter whose songs are enjoyed by parents and children alike. Each album contains a unique blend of musical styles and genres that Zola has created , including jazz, up-tempo dance, blues, pop, soft~rock ballads, and country. Her talents as a children’s songwriter are evident in her easy to sing-a-long-with melodies, the educational, fun and age~appropriate lyrics and the simple, but full, musical arrangements. With her crystal clear vocals, often likened to those on Disney soundtracks, Zola fills every song with the passion, playfulness and honesty as true as her soul.