About Lisa Horst Schrock

Lisa Horst Schrock is the newly appointed Director of Orchestras at Vel Phillips Memorial High School (formerly James Madison Memorial HS) and Jefferson Middle School in Madison, Wisconsin. She is the former Director of Orchestras at South East Junior High School in Iowa City (Iowa) and former adjunct professor and Chamber Orchestra Conductor at St. Ambrose University. 

Around the Midwest, Lisa has been recognized as a sought after guest conductor and clinician and has served as an adjudicator for many festivals. She is equally comfortable conducting professional and student ensembles. In 2017, she was selected to conduct at the New York Conducting Workshop and was a candidate for the Respighi Prize in Conducting. She holds a Masters Degree in Conducting and Music Education from Colorado State University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from Goshen College (Indiana).  

An extremely versatile musician, Lisa has performed professionally as a violinist, pianist, percussionist, and vocalist. She regularly performs as a member of the Southeast Iowa Symphony Orchestra, Iowa City Community String Orchestra, Sinfonia Nolte, and the Ottumwa Symphony. In addition to classical music, she has also performed jazz and folk music, the latter as a member of The Young Ramblers. 

As a teacher, she continually advocates for the success and needs of her students. She has been awarded grant funding for the purchase of instruments and has provided the opportunity for all orchestra students to see performances by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and other professional musicians. She has committed to engaging in and improving the string education profession and currently serves as the Conference Chair for the Iowa String Teachers Association 2021 Virtual Conference. She values collaboration and providing unique opportunities to all she teaches and conducts.

Lisa has lived a life enriched by music. Her love of classical music was nurtured by working three summers during college at the Grand Teton Music Festival in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, an orchestra that draws musicians from the top orchestras around the country under the directorship of Donald Runnicles. She engages in the conducting and education professions by regularly attending conducting workshops and professional conferences (see below), during which she’s worked with leading conductors Marin Alsop, JoAnn Falletta, Dirk Brosse, Donald Schleicher, Diane Wittry, & Anna Edwards.

In her free time, Lisa enjoys spending time running, hiking and skiing outside with her family.