Born in Christchurch, Lisa relocated to Wellington in 1986 to join Schola Musica as a violinist.

Two years later, she became a full New Zealand Symphony Orchestra member. After five years, she claims she 'saw the light', auditioned successfully and was 'promoted' to the NZSO Viola Section, where she has remained (extremely happily) ever since. She is the only player in the Orchestra's history to have secured a job on two different instruments.

It seems almost inevitable that Lisa would become a musician, given her upbringing in a household immersed in music. Her stepfather was an avid classical music enthusiast, her brother was a chorister in the Christchurch Cathedral before becoming a stage manager on London's West End, and her father was a professional rock and roll musician in the '60s, sharing the stage with the likes of Max Merritt and Ray Columbus. He claims that if he had his way, Lisa would be playing a "real" instrument.

Lisa is married and has two children, a stepson and a very opinionated cat. When she's not playing the viola, she enjoys drinking wine, knitting, travelling, and supporting her husband in his numerous roles within Wellington's theatre scene as an actor, director, sound designer, and playwright.

Lisa plays a viola made in Hamilton in 1992 by Ian Sweetman.