Instructor Bio for Programs
Short Bio
Lisa Rainsong holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition from the Cleveland Institute of Music and also earned a Naturalist Certificate from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. She recently retired from her 22-year position as a member of CIM’s music theory faculty and coordinator of CIM's DMA program, allowing her to dedicate all her teaching to the music of natural history. She now teaches classes and presents programs throughout the state on birdsong, insect songs, and the songs of frogs and toads. She does field research on crickets and katydids – research work that is done primarily by ear - and all her classes include her own field recordings and photos. Her stories from the field can be found on her blog, Listening in Nature at http://listeninginnature.blogspot.com/
Longer Bio
Lisa Rainsong's musical life integrates natural history, music education, vocal performance, and composition. She was appointed to the CIM Music Theory faculty in 2000, and taught undergraduate and graduate theory courses until her retirement in 2023. She was Coordinator of the Doctor of Musical Arts program and holds a DMA in Composition from the Cleveland Institute of Music. A soprano as well as a composer, Lisa has performed medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque music as a soloist and a choral musician.
In addition to her musical work, Lisa developed an additional specialty as a professional naturalist who studies and teaches the music of Earth’s first musicians: bird song, insect song, and the songs of amphibians. She earned a Naturalist Certificate from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in 2008 and now uses her ear training teaching skills in programs that help people learn and understand the music of the natural world. She teaches classes for the general public throughout Ohio, including for numerous Ohio park districts. She also gives advanced workshops for natural history professionals and presents at conferences across the state.
Lisa is an active field naturalist who makes her own recordings of bird songs, insect songs, and amphibian song. She has recently expanded her study beyond all the counties in NE Ohio to include additional teaching and field survey work around the state. She seeks to inspire an understanding and appreciation for the oldest music on earth and protection of avian, insect, and amphibian musicians and their concert venues at a time when their music is in danger of being silenced by climate change and habitat destruction.
