Lisa Neher is an award-winning singer and composer whose intellect and integrated practice deepens her artistic expression.
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Multi-talented mezzo-soprano, composer, and actor Lisa Neher delivers “intensity, power, and vocal prowess” (Oregon ArtsWatch), captivating audiences with richly attuned musical fluency and heartfelt performance. “A supremely talented artist,” (Willamette Week), Neher channels a signature combination of high intelligence, deep passion, fierce tenacity, and an ever-youthful spirit, offering a rare degree of excellence and versatility alongside the ability to “sincerely convey… joy and wonder” (Oregon ArtsWatch). Her wide-ranging experience across genres informs gutsy character portrayals integrated with vivid storytelling through musical performance, making her a magnetic presence onstage known for a voice that is “especially alive… full and rich” (Oregon ArtsWatch). Alongside her flourishing vocal career, Neher is an award-winning composer whose music has earned recognition from the Oregon Music Teachers Association (Composer of the Year 2025), the Flute New Music Consortium, ICDA/ICF, Mirror Visions Ensemble, and the Celebris Ensemble. Commissioning ensembles and organizations include the National Association of Teachers of Singing, American Harp Society, Cincinnati Song Initiative, and Opera Santa Barbara. Her interdisciplinary training and Doctor of Musical Arts degree inform not only her compositional craft but also her interpretive depth as a performer, giving her singing an uncommon level of clarity, intention, and emotional resonance. A visionary creator and leader, Neher is the Founder and President of New Wave Opera, a company that shares fresh, relatable stories by living composers through the medium of opera. Through all facets of her work, Neher champions contemporary storytelling that embraces both the wildness of the natural world and the intimate complexities of human experience.
Biography by Aligned Artistry |
“The entire reason I make art is to open myself up and share, and to receive and empathize with the experiences of my community. We weren’t meant to go through life walled off from one another. We can’t do it all alone.”
--Lisa Neher
--Lisa Neher
Full Biography
Multi-talented mezzo-soprano, composer, and actor Lisa Neher delivers “intensity, power, and vocal prowess” (Oregon ArtsWatch), captivating audiences with richly attuned musical fluency and heartfelt performance. “A supremely talented artist,” (Willamette Week), Neher channels a signature combination of high intelligence, deep passion, fierce tenacity, and an ever-youthful spirit, offering a rare degree of excellence and versatility alongside the ability to “sincerely convey… joy and wonder” (Oregon ArtsWatch). Her wide-ranging experience across genres informs gutsy character portrayals integrated with vivid storytelling through musical performance. Committed to redefining vocal opportunities and approaches, Neher is a “visionary… [who initiates] wildly inventive projects” (Willamette Week) that reflect her belief in the power of music to both acknowledge and alleviate sorrow. She is the Founder and President of New Wave Opera which shares stories from living voices around the world, presented by voices living in the Pacific Northwest.
Neher is a magnet onstage, showcasing her “especially alive… full and rich” voice (Oregon ArtsWatch) and uninhibited, playful style shaped by theatrical experience. Her interdisciplinary training and Doctor of Musical Arts degree inform not only her compositional craft but also her interpretive depth as a performer, giving her singing an uncommon level of clarity, intention, and emotional resonance. Her vocal performance credits include a residency at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater (Munich, Germany) with Really Spicy Opera, lead roles in the World Premieres of four operas with Experiments in Opera (New York City), Reciter for William Walton's Façade with the Orchestra Nova, a lead role in the World Premiere of Space Station 189: A Micro-Opera for Instagram at New Music Gathering, a lead role in the first staged version of Sun Songs: Three Micro-Operas by Augusta Read Thomas with the Center for New Music, the World Premiere of Aaron Israel Levin’s Fiumana for mezzo-soprano singing while playing the bass drum, and the leading role of Jennifer in the world premiere of Rita Ueda’s chamber opera One Thousand White Paper Cranes for Japan with the Singaporean ensemble Chamber Sounds. Her concert soloist credits include Duruflé’s Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem, Vesperae Solennes de Confessore, and Coronation Mass, Bach’s Magnificat and Ascension Oratorio, and Arvo Part’s Pässio, with groups such as the Central Iowa Symphony, the Grinnell Oratorio Singers, and the Chamber Singers of Iowa City. Her operatic credits include Dorabella in Così fan tutte with Iowa City Concert Opera, Dolores in The Gondoliers, Mrs. Malaprop in The Rivals, Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus and Annio in La clemenza di Tito with Martha-Ellen Tye Opera Theatre, the Student in the premiere of the chamber opera The Nightingale and the Rose by Li Kai Han Jeremiah with Helianthus Ensemble, and Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro with the Midwest Institute of Opera. Pacific Northwest-based performances include appearances with Orchestra Nova, Resonance Ensemble, Third Angle New Music, New Wave Opera, Opera Theatre Oregon, Renegade Opera, Cascadia Chamber Opera, and Big Mouth Society. Neher is a Mezzo Chorister with Portland Opera and was formerly a Young Artist with Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre and the Vancouver International Song Institute.
Neher is an award-winning composer, writing music that is focused on sound and story, and ultimately beautiful, moody, and resonant. “By creating elemental music that tap[s] into the wildness of nature, she… connect[s] the passions of her adulthood with the wonderment of her childhood” (Oregon ArtsWatch). Inspired by environmental justice, the ambiguities of death, the tender love of family and friends, and the eerie mystery of deep ocean life, Neher’s work features “liquid, impressionist… writing and fluent melding” of voices" (New York Classical Review). Commissioners and performers of her music include the National Association of Teachers of Singing, American Harp Society, Cincinnati Song Initiative, Opera Santa Barbara, Catalyst New Music, LunArt, Cult of Orpheus, Glass City Singers, Cortona Sessions for New Music, New Opera West, Third Angle New Music, Fear No Music, Dinosaur Annex, Mirror Visions Ensemble, Alma Ensemble, Opera Elect, and the the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music for which she was selected to participate in the inaugural year. Her awards include Oregon Music Teachers Association Composer of the Year (2025), Iowa Music Teacher's Association Commissioned Composer, Flute New Music Consortium Competition, ICDA/ICF Choral Competition, Mirror Visions Ensemble Young Composer Competition, and the Celebris Ensemble Choral Competition.
Neher holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from The University of Iowa, and additional degrees from The University of Kansas and Lewis & Clark College, where she graduated summa cum laude. She maintains a private teaching studio and is on faculty at Lewis & Clark College.
Biography by Aligned Artistry
Neher is a magnet onstage, showcasing her “especially alive… full and rich” voice (Oregon ArtsWatch) and uninhibited, playful style shaped by theatrical experience. Her interdisciplinary training and Doctor of Musical Arts degree inform not only her compositional craft but also her interpretive depth as a performer, giving her singing an uncommon level of clarity, intention, and emotional resonance. Her vocal performance credits include a residency at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater (Munich, Germany) with Really Spicy Opera, lead roles in the World Premieres of four operas with Experiments in Opera (New York City), Reciter for William Walton's Façade with the Orchestra Nova, a lead role in the World Premiere of Space Station 189: A Micro-Opera for Instagram at New Music Gathering, a lead role in the first staged version of Sun Songs: Three Micro-Operas by Augusta Read Thomas with the Center for New Music, the World Premiere of Aaron Israel Levin’s Fiumana for mezzo-soprano singing while playing the bass drum, and the leading role of Jennifer in the world premiere of Rita Ueda’s chamber opera One Thousand White Paper Cranes for Japan with the Singaporean ensemble Chamber Sounds. Her concert soloist credits include Duruflé’s Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem, Vesperae Solennes de Confessore, and Coronation Mass, Bach’s Magnificat and Ascension Oratorio, and Arvo Part’s Pässio, with groups such as the Central Iowa Symphony, the Grinnell Oratorio Singers, and the Chamber Singers of Iowa City. Her operatic credits include Dorabella in Così fan tutte with Iowa City Concert Opera, Dolores in The Gondoliers, Mrs. Malaprop in The Rivals, Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus and Annio in La clemenza di Tito with Martha-Ellen Tye Opera Theatre, the Student in the premiere of the chamber opera The Nightingale and the Rose by Li Kai Han Jeremiah with Helianthus Ensemble, and Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro with the Midwest Institute of Opera. Pacific Northwest-based performances include appearances with Orchestra Nova, Resonance Ensemble, Third Angle New Music, New Wave Opera, Opera Theatre Oregon, Renegade Opera, Cascadia Chamber Opera, and Big Mouth Society. Neher is a Mezzo Chorister with Portland Opera and was formerly a Young Artist with Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre and the Vancouver International Song Institute.
Neher is an award-winning composer, writing music that is focused on sound and story, and ultimately beautiful, moody, and resonant. “By creating elemental music that tap[s] into the wildness of nature, she… connect[s] the passions of her adulthood with the wonderment of her childhood” (Oregon ArtsWatch). Inspired by environmental justice, the ambiguities of death, the tender love of family and friends, and the eerie mystery of deep ocean life, Neher’s work features “liquid, impressionist… writing and fluent melding” of voices" (New York Classical Review). Commissioners and performers of her music include the National Association of Teachers of Singing, American Harp Society, Cincinnati Song Initiative, Opera Santa Barbara, Catalyst New Music, LunArt, Cult of Orpheus, Glass City Singers, Cortona Sessions for New Music, New Opera West, Third Angle New Music, Fear No Music, Dinosaur Annex, Mirror Visions Ensemble, Alma Ensemble, Opera Elect, and the the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music for which she was selected to participate in the inaugural year. Her awards include Oregon Music Teachers Association Composer of the Year (2025), Iowa Music Teacher's Association Commissioned Composer, Flute New Music Consortium Competition, ICDA/ICF Choral Competition, Mirror Visions Ensemble Young Composer Competition, and the Celebris Ensemble Choral Competition.
Neher holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from The University of Iowa, and additional degrees from The University of Kansas and Lewis & Clark College, where she graduated summa cum laude. She maintains a private teaching studio and is on faculty at Lewis & Clark College.
Biography by Aligned Artistry