Lisa Nelsen

Biography

Described by The Times – London as “…a flautist and a half…”, Lisa Nelsen is internationally recognised for her versatility as a flute soloist, chamber and orchestral musician, educator and mentor in performance practices. She grew up on a pig farm in Western Canada, and fed on all kinds of music, from opera to rock to jazz. She makes many venues her stage, and thrives on sharing the energy that performances can generate. Her flute and harp duo with Eleanor Turner, Aquilae, has performed to packed audiences across the UK. She is a member of Continuum Ensemble in London; The Harborough Collective, a chamber ensemble led by internationally acclaimed violinist David Le Page; and most recently formed a trio with cellist Julian Metzger and pianist Paul Turner in Enigma14. 

Lisa has given concerts and masterclasses in venues across the Canada, the UK, Sweden, Austria, The Netherlands, Ireland, the United States, and in Hong Kong. In June 2015 Lisa made her King’s Place solo debut, performing Hindemith’s Acht Stucke with the contemporary music group Continuum Ensemble (recorded for YouTube). Most recently, she appeared in cities across Canada giving workshops and performing for Yamaha Canada. Since moving to the UK, she has premiered works written for her by Kenneth Hesketh, Arlene Sierra, Paul Max Edlin and Roderick Watkins, and appeared in first performances of pieces by Errollyn Wallen, David Le Page, Eric Tanguy, Julian Anderson, Malcolm Forsyth, John Woolrich, and John McCabe, to name a few. 

She is a Professor at the Junior Department of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London, teaching flute and coaching wind chamber groups and the orchestral winds. Lisa was the Specialist Flute Tutor at Wells Cathedral School for more than 15 years, and was privileged to sit on the British Flute Society Council for 10 years. Lisa is an artist for Yamaha Classical Division International playing a 14k 900series flute.