poet in residence

Writer and pianist Lisa DeSiro (b. 1970) grew up in New York state, moved to Boston in 1993, and now resides in Cambridge. She earned degrees at Binghamton University (B.A. Literature and Creative Writing), Boston Conservatory (B.M. Piano Performance: Accompanying), Longy School of Music (M.M. Collaborative Piano), and Lesley University (M.F.A. Creative Writing). Lisa has studied with poets Teresa Cader, Rafael Campo, Milton Kessler, Bill Knott, and Spencer Reece. Her piano teachers have included Donald Berman, Wayman Chin, Brian Moll, and Jeffrey Stevens. Lisa has premiered works by composers Vartan Aghababian, Richard Applin, and Steve Bergman, and her poems have been set by composers David DeSiro (her brother), Heather Gilligan, and Liam Wade. Lisa has published in The Comstock Review, and in 2007 was selected as an exhibitor for the Mayor’s Prose & Poetry Program at Boston City Hall. For several years she freelanced as an accompanist, playing for voice lessons, ballet classes, opera productions and theater, and performing throughout Massachusetts and in Europe. She continues to perform art song and chamber music. In addition to being poet-in-residence for CMASH, Lisa is a member of the Pierrot Lunaire Ensemble. She also is Editorial and Production Assistant for C.P.E Bach: The Complete Works, a project of The Packard Humanities Institute (www.cpebach.org).