Lisa Fairey, School Orchestra Teacher, Cellist, Singer and Songwriter, mom of three boys and wife, was very fortunate to grow up in Texas public schools (Plano) where they had a fantastic music program. She went on to graduate with a Bachelor in Music Education from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, and subsequently after, a Masters Degree in Cello Performance at The University of North Texas.
In her formative years and beyond, she studied cello with Dallas Symphony Orchestra Cellist, Yuri Anshelevich (former student of M Rostropovich). She toured and played in countless summer festivals and various orchestras, with many outstanding musicians throughout her musical career. In 1997 she started teaching string classes as an assistant to an amazing orchestra director who had a middle school strings program so large that it warranted an extra strings teacher. Lisa spent the year learning from a master educator and then went on to develop string programs as well as start them in schools where there was none in the US, and also in Spain and Paris, France. Her students have performed at countless Music Festivals garnering superior ratings, and at Disneyland Paris, at the White House, and of course in the community at the mall, grocery stores and retirement homes. She’s performed in countless orchestras/ensembles in all venues including Cathedral La Madeleine, The Kennedy Center, The Moscow Conservatory, The Morton H Meyerson Symphony Center, Cathedral of St John the Divine, The United Nations, UNESCO in Paris, among many others, as well as taught in Spain, Gibraltar, Paris, Texas, Virginia and now NYC.
Only a few years ago she started singing, mostly jazz, her ultimate favorite genre, which led to songwriting with her musical BFF, Trevor Barker. Their tunes are classified as Indie Soft-Pop/Country with the jazz influence mostly in the chord progressions and extended harmonies. They’ve created a very unique sound in this popular genre with the use of the cello, the back up vocals and Lisa’s one of a kind vocal quality. They also have written music and arranged for her students to play, often at the students’ requests. She has recently combined her love of singing jazz with cello, and spent the last few summers singing and playing cello with her dynamic duo partner, Trev, in Spain. His influence and mentorship to Lisa on a multitude of levels has been paramount in their song writing success. Trev plays all genres on sax, flute, clarinet and harmonica. He has written all of Lisa’s solos for their jazz gigs and also in their original songs. Lisa has compiled his solos for a few of his tunes, such as All of Me, Stardust, etc, and will continue to publishing them via their publishing company, Trev and Lisa Music.