Lisa Willson, soprano, has won praise for the beauty and purity of her voice. Currently, Lisa is the featured singer and interpreter of a collection of yiddish art songs, written by David Botwinik and available in his published book, “From Holocaust to Life.” She recently performed these songs at The Segal Performing Arts Center in Montréal and at the Yivo Institute for Jewish Research in New York City. Lisa was the soprano soloist in Verdi’s Requiem Mass, entitled “The Defiant Requiem,“ with the Oregon Symphony Orchestra under Murray Sidlin, which was televised on PBS. She performed Hadyn’s Lord Nelson Mass and selections from Bach’s B-Minor Mass with the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra under Jeffrey Brillhart. She has also been featured in Philadelphia’s Lyric Fest concerts. As a concert soloist she has sung Herman Suter's Le Laudi in Basel, Switzerland; Dvorak's Stabat Mater with Winterthur Orchestra at Zurich's Tonhalle; and Angele in Der Graf von Luxembourg with the Los Angeles Concert Opera. She has appeared twice with the Washington Choral Arts Society, both as Soprano I in Mahler's Symphony No.8 and then as the soprano soloist for their Christmas concerts, all at the Kennedy Center under the baton of Maestro Norman Scribner. She has been heard in a series of holiday concerts with Augusta Opera; Britten's War Requiem with Virginia Tech University; sang the New York premiere of John Cage's Europera V: and the Brahms’ Requiem with the Brooklyn Philharmonic.
Lisa has recently sung Desdemona in Otello with Center Stage Opera, Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, Ariadne in Ariadne auf Naxos and portrayed the Goose Girl in Humperdinck’s, Die Königskinder, all with Sarasota Opera conducted by Victor DeRenzi. She has performed the title role of Tosca with Opera Roanoke under Maestro Stephen White, the title role in Jenufa with Long Beach Opera under the direction of Maestro Andre Mitisek. Additional performances include; Fiordiligi in Mozart's Cosi fan Tutte in Saverne, France, the role of Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with The Academy of Vocal Arts, the European Center for Opera and Vocal Arts in Gent, Belgium and also with San Francisco's Western Opera Theater. Lisa has also sung Micaela in Carmen with the Opera Company of Philadelphia Young Artists Program under Maestro Steven Mercurio. In addition, she has sung the roles of Violetta in La Traviata, the Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos under the baton of Maestro Christopher Macatsoris.
Lisa has been two-time winner of a Gerda Lissner Foundation grant; a five time winner of the Sergio Franchi Foundation grant, a winner of the Mario Lanza competition in Philadelphia and a European finalist in the Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition. She received a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from the University of Idaho Lionel Hampton Music School where she studied with Dorothy Barnes, a Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music under the tutelage of Ms. Adele Addison, and was a member of the Juilliard Opera Center, and was further trained in opera at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia where she studied with Bill Schuman.
In addition to her array of classical engagements, Lisa started her career at age 22, as a lead singer with The Lionel Hampton Orchestra, which toured throughout the United States. She had been a guest artist at The Lionel Hampton Chevron Jazz Festival and has given master classes on jazz singing and interpretation. Lisa has served as an adjunct professor at Haverford and Bryn Mawr Colleges, is currently the Choral Director and private voice instructor at Merion Mercy Academy, and founder of the Willson Vocal Academy. She enjoys teaching classical voice, musical theater, jazz, blues, and gospel styles. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband, tenor, Ian DeNolfo and their two sons, Joseph and Alexander.
Lisa has recently sung Desdemona in Otello with Center Stage Opera, Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, Ariadne in Ariadne auf Naxos and portrayed the Goose Girl in Humperdinck’s, Die Königskinder, all with Sarasota Opera conducted by Victor DeRenzi. She has performed the title role of Tosca with Opera Roanoke under Maestro Stephen White, the title role in Jenufa with Long Beach Opera under the direction of Maestro Andre Mitisek. Additional performances include; Fiordiligi in Mozart's Cosi fan Tutte in Saverne, France, the role of Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with The Academy of Vocal Arts, the European Center for Opera and Vocal Arts in Gent, Belgium and also with San Francisco's Western Opera Theater. Lisa has also sung Micaela in Carmen with the Opera Company of Philadelphia Young Artists Program under Maestro Steven Mercurio. In addition, she has sung the roles of Violetta in La Traviata, the Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos under the baton of Maestro Christopher Macatsoris.
Lisa has been two-time winner of a Gerda Lissner Foundation grant; a five time winner of the Sergio Franchi Foundation grant, a winner of the Mario Lanza competition in Philadelphia and a European finalist in the Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition. She received a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from the University of Idaho Lionel Hampton Music School where she studied with Dorothy Barnes, a Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music under the tutelage of Ms. Adele Addison, and was a member of the Juilliard Opera Center, and was further trained in opera at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia where she studied with Bill Schuman.
In addition to her array of classical engagements, Lisa started her career at age 22, as a lead singer with The Lionel Hampton Orchestra, which toured throughout the United States. She had been a guest artist at The Lionel Hampton Chevron Jazz Festival and has given master classes on jazz singing and interpretation. Lisa has served as an adjunct professor at Haverford and Bryn Mawr Colleges, is currently the Choral Director and private voice instructor at Merion Mercy Academy, and founder of the Willson Vocal Academy. She enjoys teaching classical voice, musical theater, jazz, blues, and gospel styles. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband, tenor, Ian DeNolfo and their two sons, Joseph and Alexander.