Lisa Nelson

LISA NELSON, VIOLA, is Head of the String Area at Illinois Wesleyan University, where she teaches viola and violin. An active chamber musician, she regularly appears in recitals throughout the U.S., Canada, Bulgaria, Italy, Israel, Poland, and the Czech Republic.

Nelson earned a Doctor of Music in Viola Performance from the University of Illinois and a double degree (BM in violin performance and BA in mathematics) from St. Olaf College. She is a member of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, serves on the faculty of the International Chamber Music Academy in Kyustendil, Bulgaria, for young talented musicians, and is Executive Director of the Illinois Chamber Music Festival at IWU.

Her performances and presentations on chamber music, viola/violin pedagogy, and literature have been featured at conferences of the American String Teachers Association, American Viola Society, Music by Women International Festival, and College Music Society.

Her 2020 Albany Records CD, Dancing on Glass, recorded with violinist Anna Cromwell and cellist Mira Frisch, features works for strings by leading women composers.