Lisa Forkish
It was April 24th, 2005, springtime in New York City, and Lisa Forkish was performing her heart out, along with 11 other women on one of Lincoln Center's prominent stages. This marked the climax of Lisa's career in the a cappella world, where she was music director for the University of Oregon's premier women's a cappella group, Divisi, who would take home second place that evening at the international competition. The following year, Lisa challenged herself to start from the bottom up, beginning her career as a performing composer, singer, and pianist. Upon receiving acceptance and a hefty, prestigious scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music, Lisa moved cross-country to Boston to pursue her childhood dream.
Lisa grew up in the Pacific Northwest among towering Douglas firs, blackberry brambles, and persistent rain. Her mother's parlor grand piano looked out on the wide Willamette Valley and the Cascade mountains beyond. Lisa studied classical violin throughout her early youth, but after several years, she realized that her greatest joy came from singing. Enchanted by the music of Joni Mitchell, Tori Amos, and Fiona Apple, she resolved with all her youthful energy to teach herself to play the piano in order to write songs from her own sweet and eager 11-year-old heart.
Just 11 years later and already a seasoned performer from her years of work in musical theatre and opera productions, symphony, jazz and festival choirs, as well as countless a cappella shows, Lisa thrived throughout her time at Berklee. She performed regularly on campus and around the Boston area. Lisa's final semester culminated in the release of her long-awaited and highly received debut album, "Between You and Me," available on iTunes and CD Baby, where one reviewer described it as "definitely one of the best albums I have heard in a long time." Currently, Lisa is back on the West Coast, gleefully living the life of a performing singer-composer-pianist, and music teacher, while basking in the utter beauty and unparalleled uniqueness of Portland, Oregon.