The Conductor
Mr. Lisi has 35 years of experience as a choral director and music specialist in Ohio public schools. He served seven years as Director of Choral Activities at Avon Lake HS after completing 16 years as Director of Vocal Music at Learwood Middle School. He previously taught vocal music, grades K-12, in the Lakewood City Schools and Columbus Public Schools, served as Assistant Director of the Columbus Boychoir, Director of the Riverside Academy of Music Chorale, and as a teacher with the Young Scholars Program at the Ohio State University. After retiring from public school teaching, Mr. Lisi was appointed to the position of Artistic Director of the West Shore Chorale, an auditioned choir residing on the west side of Cleveland, which performs large works for chorus and orchestra.
Mr. Lisi has presented clinics and reading sessions for both the Ohio Music Educators Association and the Ohio Choral Directors Association state conferences, and his choirs have also been selected to perform at these events. He has served OMEA as the District 4 Honor Choir Chairperson, as a member of the Ohio All-State Choir selection committee, is an adjudicator of voice, piano and choral events, was Chair of the Choral Activities Committee for the 2006 OMEA State Conference in Cleveland, has served as Junior High Affairs Chair, Vocal Affairs Chair, and Vocal Advisor on the OMEA Adjudicated Events Committee. He has overseen the publication of sightreading compositions for District and State Choral Adjudicated Events and the committees which select literature for the required performance lists for these events. Mr. Lisi has served as Middle School Repertoire and Standards Chair, Northeast Region Chair, and Newsletter Editor for the Ohio Choral Directors Association. For four years, he served on the Committee for Arts and Innovative Thinking, an initiative of the Ohio Department of Education, the Ohio State Legislature, and the Governor of Ohio.
Mr. Lisi is often called on as a guest conductor for district and county honor choirs and is sought as a clinician and speaker throughout the state of Ohio and beyond. Mr. Lisi served as a Guest Editorialist for Choral Director Magazine, authoring a series of articles titled, “The Choral Commission: A Model for Enrichment and Integration in the Middle School Choral Curriculum. He has several times been listed in Who's Who Among America's Teachers.
Mr. Lisi holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Miami University, a Master of Arts degree from The Ohio State University, a Master of Business Administration in finance and marketing from Cleveland State University and has taken courses toward a PhD in Music Education at Case Western Reserve University.
Mr. Lisi lives in Avon Lake with his wife, Lisa, and daughter, Rebecca.