Lisa Nelsen

Described by The Times - London as “…a flautist and a half…”, Lisa NELSEN is internationally recognised for her versatility on the flute as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician, as well as an educator, mentor and leader in galvanising groups of musicians to work together. Her overriding passion for the stage is evident in concert, classes and adjudications…. most recently as soloist with the National Youth Concert Band and in the Just Flutes’ Flute Festival in Birmingham supported by Yamaha. Throughout the lockdown from 2020, facing the challenges as a musician and Chair of the British Flute Society (BFS), everything connected to her career in music needed to adapt. Lisa performed in monthly online concerts to raise awareness for groups and charities, including The Benslow Music Trust and Artists and Residents concerts for care homes. Lisa gave lectures and webinars on performance and motivational practice methods for both the BFS and Yamaha Classical Division, as well as adjudicate for international online events (Tampere Flute Festival from Finland and the E-Flute Festival). Lisa contributed to Hashtag ‘100 Days of Practice’ on Instagram, finishing a third series in April, as a means to improve her own consistency in her work and inspire onlookers to ‘have a go’. She wrote blogs for the Swedish Flute Association and for the BFS periodical Pan, revealing her own triumphs, troughs and plateaus throughout the months of isolation and as the emergence of live performance began again.

She grew up on a pig farm in Western Canada, and fed on all kinds of music, from opera to rock to jazz. She continues to make many venues her stage, and thrives on sharing the energy that performance can generate. As well as solo and orchestral appearances, Aquilae Duo is her exciting partnership with solo harpist Eleanor Turner. She is a member of The Harborough Collective, a chamber ensemble led by internationally acclaimed violinist David Le Page. Her trio comprised of flute, cello and piano performs lesser-known chamber works with Julian Metzger and Michelle Santiago. Lisa’s concerts and masterclasses have featured in venues throughout the UK, Canada, the United States, Hong Kong, and most recently the Republic of Ireland. She’s appeared as a guest artist at Aberystwyth MusicFest, Flutissimo in Germany, Adams Flute Festival in The Netherlands, Swaledale Festival, Orebro Flute Festival in Sweden, Canterbury Festival, Sounds New, Deal Festival, Leicester Music Festival, Jackdaws Music Trust, Aldeburgh Festival, Banff Festival of the Arts and MusiCamrose in Canada, as well as The British Flute Society Conventions and Flutewise Barbican Events in London. Yamaha Canada took Lisa back to her roots in January 2017 where she gave concerts and classes in Montréal, Toronto, and across the Prairies. She lead a session in the school where she began learning the flute in band (a joint Yamaha - Canada initiative) when she was 13, taking the students through their paces, and chatting about the beginnings of music as a life-long passion. Lisa has been a professor and coach at the Junior Department of Guildhall School since 2011. She is Past Chair of the British Flute Society, a position she has been very honoured to hold with a charity she has supported as a member and as a council member for over 25 years.

As a champion of contemporary music and composers, and a lover of all types of music, Lisa has taken every opportunity to premiere solo and ensemble works while a member of Continuum Ensemble, new london chamber ensemble and now Aquilae, The Harborough Collective and Enigma14. Each dedicated their concerts to introducing works with high integrity and cuttingedge ideas. Several pieces commissioned through the groups were premiered by Lisa, including Kenneth Hesketh’s solo work Gabo’s Opus (recorded by BBC Radio 3), and ensemble works by Errolyn Wallen and Roger Smalley. Lisa also gave first UK performances of Lowell Liebermann’s Flute Sonata, Eric Tanguy’s Further and Shulamit Ran’s East Wind. Her other ‘first performance’ credits include works by Roderick Watkins, Paul Max Edlin, Malcolm Forsyth, Rob Buckland, Arlene Sierra, Sean Fergusson, José Evangalista, Isabelle Panneton, Claude Vivier, Olé Schmidt, Douglas Finch and Julian Andersson.

From 2000 to 2007 Lisa was an Artistic Director for the Harrogate Flute Kitchen Summer School, where she lead masterclasses and gave concerts. Lisa was a founding member of the group new london chamber ensemble and enjoyed 10 years of fantastic concerts and workshops, including performances with pianist, Angela Hewitt, and joint concerts with the Danté Quartet in the Swaledale Festival and at Wigmore Hall. They became one of the first wind quintets to stage Luciano Berio’s opus number zoo, and included it in most of their progammes. The group released a recording of Carl Nielsen’s Quintet, using a newly edited score of the piece. Yearly educational events included coaching the National Youth Chamber Orchestra. Her position as Specialist Flute Teacher at Wells Cathedral School from 2001 until 2017 was an incredible experience, learning from her colleagues and her pupils. She’s very proud to see many former pupils now take up their professional positions in ensembles and as soloists around the world…and continue to share their own experiences.