Lisa Young

Hi! I'm Lisa, a professional cellist and music educator with over 16 years of private teaching experience. Cello is my primary instrument and specialty, but I don't believe being a serious cellist means you have to live entirely inside the classical world.

I love working with students of all ages and backgrounds, from complete beginners picking up an instrument for the first time to experienced musicians preparing for auditions, performances, or new musical challenges. I especially enjoy teaching adult beginners and returning musicians who may have wanted to play cello for years but weren't sure where to start.

My goal is to help students develop strong technique, musicianship, and independence without losing sight of why they wanted to make music in the first place.

Classical music? Absolutely. Film scores, video game music, musical theatre, folk, pop, rock, progressive music, or metal? Also absolutely.

You don't have to become a classical musician to become a great cellist. You need strong musical tools and the freedom to use them to make music that matters to you.

I earned my B.S. in Music Education from Lebanon Valley College in 2013 and my M.S. in Educational Development and Strategies from Wilkes University in 2016.

From 2013–2021, I was an Orchestra & General Music Instructor with Gettysburg Area School District in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, directing and teaching elementary and middle-school string students across four buildings. My work included beginning through developing string instruction, small-group and individual coaching, ensemble direction, concerts and community performances, music literacy, and general music. In 2015, I received the PADESTA Outstanding New String/Orchestra Teacher Award, and I was also awarded a Robert C. Hoffman Grant to pilot SmartMusic in the district.

From 2021–2022, I taught orchestra with Arlington Independent School District in Arlington, Texas, and also provided string-instruction support at Medlin Middle School, including masterclasses, sectionals, audition preparation, and adjudication. I have maintained a private lesson studio throughout my professional career, and private teaching is now my full-time passion alongside performing.

I've spent more than two decades playing cello in orchestras and ensembles, recording projects, weddings, live performances, and contemporary settings. Since October 2025, I have also collaborated as a cellist and arranger with Matriarchs of Sorrow, a developing Los Angeles-based metal cello project.

Regardless of what inspires you, my goal is to help you become a more confident, capable, and independent musician while making sure we leave plenty of room for the music that made you want to play in the first place. Let's make some music together!

My teaching style is highly individualized, collaborative, and goal-oriented. Rather than following a one-size-fits-all curriculum, I build lessons around each student's goals, learning style, musical interests, strengths, and challenges.

I believe strong technique and musicianship should give students more musical freedom, not less. We may work on bow control, intonation, shifting, rhythm, scales, sight-reading, ear training, theory, healthy technique, or practice strategies, but those skills are tools for helping you become the musician you want to be.

One of the first things I want to know is: What do you actually want to play?

For one student, that might be Bach or an orchestral audition. For another, it might be a film score, video game soundtrack, Broadway song, Hozier, Tool, Sleep Token, pop, folk, rock, or metal. Often it's a mixture.

I also place a strong emphasis on teaching students how to practice and problem-solve independently. Rather than simply pointing out what went wrong, I want students to understand what they're hearing or feeling, why something isn't working, and what tools they can use to fix it.

With 10 years of public-school orchestra teaching and directing experience, I'm also very comfortable helping students with orchestra music, auditions, sight-reading, ensemble skills, music literacy, and the challenges that can come with school music programs.

Above all, I want lessons to be a place where students can develop excellent musical skills without music becoming another assignment they have to survive.