We were lucky to catch up with Lisa Liu recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Lisa, thanks for joining us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

My passion, creativity, talents, abilities, leadership skills and countless other positive attributes, I owe to my parents. My mother, Li-Ping Liu, who had the stage name “Liu Chere”, had a successful career as an opera singer and teacher. She toured and performed while pregnant with me. Every memory I have as a child in Pittsburgh, from waking up to preparing for school, driving back and forth, watching my mom prepare meals, thru bedtime, was constantly filled with classical music. Not just any classical music, however. I was only exposed to the greatest: Maria Callas, Luciano Pavarotti, Leonard Bernstein, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Vladimir Horowitz, Yo-Yo Ma. At 10, I was reprimanded when my folks found out I’d been secretly listening to Madonna and sneaking downstairs after bedtime to watch “Yo! MTV Raps”. My parents taught me to only seek out the best mentors, teachers, doctors, friends, and influences.

Seek expert opinions from reputable sources, then get a second opinion. Be diligent, resourceful, discerning, disciplined, and most importantly, enjoy life. We live a value-driven life, where family and health come first. Career success is a byproduct of a life focused on joy and fulfillment.

I followed my mother’s musical footsteps and also attended The Juilliard School for nine years as a violinist. Watching my mother sing, travel and teach inspired me. Performing in front of an audience and connecting with other performers is still the most exhilarating thing to me. Performing and recording is where I can be fully expressed and share that gift with everyone around me. My parents gave me that gift.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My career is in a constant state of evolution. After Juilliard, I jumped into the freelancing scene in New York City, playing electric violin in dance clubs, keys with a drag queen opera singer, acoustic violin with a middle-eastern and Indian-influenced ensemble and an array of pop singers and rappers. I rebelled against auditioning for a symphony or teaching in a conservatory, the traditional routes of classical musicians. My day job was teaching violin and keys to hundreds of kids in the South Bronx over 6 years. Feeling burnt out, heartbroken, lost, I followed my parents to Los Angeles, where they’d retired. Los Angeles was exciting, a fresh chance at reinventing myself, building new relationships and seeking new opportunities to grow. My first job orchestra contracting was for America’s Got Talent. From there, I got to perform on The Voice, American Idol, then eventually on over 300 scores and soundtracks ranging from Star Wars to Family Guy.
Variety and growth are important, so on top of regularly performing and recording, I also conduct, orchestrate, compose, contract and produce shows. Recently, I hired musicians for the upcoming Exorcist film, Jack Reacher show, and am currently performing on “Weekends with Adele” at Caesar’s Palace.

Have you ever had to pivot?

For a few years, my life in Los Angeles was focused around session work. It’s a freelancer’s dream- to be on a list of musicians who are regularly called to play on TV/Film scores. However, it was just that…literally a list of people with a pulse who own an instrument. Being called to a session gives the illusion that the musician is significant. After all, you’re sharing credits and the stage with major stars. The more work you get is not dependent on how talented you actually are as a musician. You get more work by being more obedient and anonymous. It is antithetical to why I became a musician. I wanted to create, stand out, be freely expressed. To be a session string player is to blend as much as possible to the point that people don’t know you’re even there. After about 6 years of constant session work, I had the strong impulse to leave all of it. The gigs had become so routine, the environment so toxic, I felt dread going to work. There was a ton of reflecting: “Is this all I’m meant to do? Am I going to become as sad and delusional as these older players? Am I going to keep missing out on greater opportunities?” After a resounding, “hell no” to all of these questions, I told my husband and parents I was walking away from all of it. They were all so, so supportive and proud of me.
Within months, I’d scored two full length films, assembled an international orchestra tour for National Geographic, and even filed a patent for multiple cannabis tinctures. My life has no limitations now. I feel free, enthusiastic about all of my endeavors, grateful to the friends and colleagues who believed in me.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Even after living in Hollywood for over a decade, I still go against my instinct and trust people. My most recent business partner, a drummer friend I’d performed with on the Sunset Strip over a decade ago, presented an opportunity that felt too good to be true. It was. I ended up spending a couple years on projects that kept falling through due to various circumstances. Most musicians and artists suffered during the pandemic, and although my husband and I took a hit, we considered ourselves to be truly blessed. My then business partner had deep family, mental health and financial issues, so in good faith, my husband and I loaned him our car, cleaned and organized his hoarder home, paid for all business expenses, and wrote him a massive personal loan when he fell for an online scam. He told us we were all he had, manipulated our kindness and we fell for it. Within about a month of writing him a giant check, after he claimed his life was falling apart, he disappeared with our money. Then I find out he’d been telling my other partners (friends I’d known for decades) that I was “cut out”. He’d been using my reputation and credentials to elevate himself, took the projects that I’d funded and tried to work with the people I’d introduced him to.
When someone deceives another person, you must believe that it will happen to you.
When something is too good to be true, it always is.
When your gut tells you something is wrong, follow it.
In this relationship, I did not follow the lessons of my parents: that is, to always use discernment.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lisaliumusic.com
• Instagram: @lisaliumusic
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/lisaliumusic
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/lisaliumusic
• Twitter: @thereallisaliu

Image Credits
Mitch Henson Hsien-Tung Liu Maxine Peck Ezekiel Willis Chad Batka Nadia Sirota