Instructor Bio for Programs

Lisa Rainsong's musical life integrates composition, education, vocal performance, and natural history.  She was appointed to the CIM Music Theory faculty in 2000, and teaches undergraduate and graduate theory courses. She also is Coordinator of the Doctor of Musical Arts program. She 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 work in education, performance, and composition, Lisa is a professional naturalist who specializes in 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 at the Holden Arboretum, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and 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 is now expanding her study to include all the counties in NE Ohio with additional work around the state. She seeks to inspire an understanding and appreciation for the oldest music on earth and protection of the 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.