Lisa DeNolfo
Biography
Dr. Lisa Willson DeNolfo, D.M.A., is delighted to announce her appointment to the University of Delaware voice faculty for the fall of 2024. Dr. DeNolfo recently completed her Doctoral of Musical Arts degree from Temple University. Her published monograph, “Twenty-First Century Women Composers of Philadelphia: Analysis of Individualistic Expression of Collaborative Art Song as Demonstrated in Andrea Clearfield’s A Reminiscence Sing and Jennifer Higdon’s Love Sweet,” provides a concise historical overview of a select group of women composers in Philadelphia from the late eighteenth century to the present. The monograph emphasizes chamber art song in the twenty-first century.
Over the past several years, Lisa has captivated audiences with her work as a soprano soloist. She performed Richard Strauss’ Vier Letzte Lieder conducted by José Luis Domínguez with the Temple University Symphony Orchestra and was the soprano soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at the Kimmel Center under the baton of Kensho Watanabe. Recently, she performed Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Richard Wagner’s Liebestod, and Richard Strauss’ Vier Letzte Lieder with the Landsdowne Symphony under the baton of Maestro Reuben Blundell. Additionally, she has appeared with the Lower Merion Symphony, singing selections from Wagner’s Die Walküre and Die Götterdammerung, including Brünnhilde’s Immolation Scene. In addition, she also appeared as a soloist in Andrea Clearfield’s 37th Anniversary Year Szalon, singing selections from a new song cycle written for and dedicated to Lisa, entitled Love in the Midst, composed by Dr. Cynthia Folio. She is the featured singer and interpreter of a collection of Yiddish art songs written by David Botwinik, From Holocaust to Life (iTunes and CD Baby). She has performed these songs at Haverford College, the Segal Performing Arts Center in Montreal, and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in New York City. Lisa and Israeli pianist/cellist Dr. Michal Schmidt performed in a “Tribute to Andrea Clearfield” at the Philadelphia Ethical Society as part of Dr. Schmidt’s Tribute Concert Series.
Lisa’s other concert appearances include her role as a soprano soloist in Verdi’s Requiem Mass, titled The Defiant Requiem, performed with the Oregon Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Murray Sidlin. This performance was broadcast nationally on PBS. Additionally, she has performed as a soloist with the Washington Choral Arts Society, portraying Soprano I in Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 and later as the soprano soloist for their Christmas concerts at the Kennedy Center under the baton of Maestro Norman Scribner. Her repertoire also includes soprano soloist performances in Hadyn’s Lord Nelson Mass and Bach’s Mass in B Minor with the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra. She has also performed Brahm’s Ein Deutsches Requiem with the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra, Dvorak’s Stabat Mater at Zürich’s Tonhalle, Hermann Sutter’s Requiem in Basel, the Mozart Requiem, and Britten’s War Requiem with the Virginia Tech University Orchestra. Notably, she premiered John Cage’s Europera V at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
On the operatic stage, she has portrayed several of the lirico-spinto and young dramatic roles, including Tosca, Ariadne, Jenufa, Desdemona, Rosalinde, Fiordiligi, Countess, Donna Elvira, Goose Girl, Michaela, Violetta, and Komponist. She has performed with the Opera Company of Philadelphia, San Francisco Western Opera Theater, Long Beach Opera, Sarasota Opera, Opera Colorado, Opera Roanoke, Basel, Switzerland, and Saverne, France. Awards include being a European finalist in the Luciano Pavarotti International Competition, a two-time winner of the Gerda Lissner Foundation grant, a five-time winner of the Sergio Franchi Foundation Grant, and a recipient at the Mario Lanza competition in Philadelphia. Lisa received her M.M. degree from The Manhattan School of Music and her B.M. in Vocal Performance from The Lionel Hampton School of Music at The University of Idaho. She was a two-year artist at The Academy of Vocal Arts and a member of The Juilliard Opera Center.
Lisa has dedicated her life to teaching since her late teens. In 2004, she founded the Willson Vocal Academy in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. She and her husband, tenor Ian DeNolfo (Executive Director of The Voice Foundation), co-manage the academy, which comprises five instructors and accommodates approximately 140 students. Their renowned five-week Summer Vocal Boot Camp is held annually in Wayne, Pennsylvania. Prior to her current position, Lisa held faculty positions at Temple University, Bryn Mawr College, and Haverford College. She served as the director of the (PIMF) Philadelphia International Music Festival Opera Theater Program and was a voice instructor and choir director at Merion Mercy Academy High School for seven years. Lisa has had the privilege of studying under esteemed voice instructors, including Madame Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, Marlena Malas, Bill Schumann, Dr. Christine Anderson, and Adele Addison. Currently, she continues her vocal studies with Margaret Baroody and Dr. Robert T. Sataloff, and she coaches with Mr. Richard Raub and Luke Housner. Lisa is the president of Greater Philadelphia NATS, a former board member of the Women’s Sacred Music Project, and a sustaining member of The Voice Foundation. She and her students actively participate in Philadelphia’s Annual Voice Symposium and perform at community outreach events annually.
