Lisa Nelson is Instructor of Violin and Viola at Illinois Wesleyan University, coordinator of the IWU String Preparatory Department, and faculty of the IWU Chamber Music Camp.

Ms. Nelson is a member of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra and the Sinfonia da Camera, directed by Ian Hobson. She has also performed with the Peoria Symphony, Opera Illinois, Champaign-Urbana Symphony, and as principal violist of the Enescu Ensemble.  As an active chamber musician, Lisa Nelson regularly appears in recitals throughout Illinois and other Midwestern states.

Lisa Nelson holds her Master of Music degree from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and a double-degree (Bachelor of Music in violin performance and Bachelor of Arts in mathematics) from St. Olaf College, Minnesota, where she graduated summa cum laude with departmental distinction in music. She has also participated in the summer programs at the Aspen Music School, Madeline Island Music Festival, and Interlochen Arts Camp. Nelson's teachers have included Sherban Lupu, Charles Gray, Mihai Craioveanu, and Alan Ohmes.

Along with teaching and performing, Lisa Nelson is Executive Director of the IWU Summer Music Program (Cello Camp and Chamber Music Camp) for young talented musicians and is on faculty of the International Music Course and Festival in Positano, Italy and the Ameropa International Chamber Music Festival in Prague, Czech Republic.