Lisa Kohorn earned her Bachelor of Arts and Doctorate degrees from the University of Hawaii and did her post-graduate studies at UCLA and Stanford. Her main teachers have been Gary Bovyer and former principal clarinetist and assistant conductor of the Honolulu Symphony, Henry Miyamura.
Lisa has performed as a soloist with the Santa Monica Chamber Orchestra, Orange Coast College Symphonic Orchestra, and Orange Symphonic Band, and as a youth soloist with the Honolulu Symphony and Hawaii Youth Symphony.
Lisa is principal clarinet of Golden State Pops Orchestra (GSPO), a position she has held since since 2005. She has been second clarinetist in Orchestra Santa Monica since its inception in 2012. She regularly performs school concerts as a member of Orchestra Santa Monica Woodwind Quintet and has also performed school concerts as a member of the Golden State Pops Woodwind Quintet. Lisa is a founding member of Vicente Chamber Orchestra and has served as principal clarinetist since 2016. Lisa has performed with the Santa Monica Symphony and SAMOSO Woodwind Quintet, Asia American Symphony, Video Games Live, Chamber Players of Los Angeles, Southern California Master Chorale, and the San Diego Opera Ensemble. Lisa has performed with many film and video game composers, including John Debney, Richard Sherman, Hans Zimmer, Jeffrey Schindler, Stu Phillips, Wataru Hokoyama, William Stromberg, Christopher Tin, Gerard Marino, Christopher Lennertz, and Austin Wintory. A strong proponent of new music, Lisa has premiered pieces by composers Austin Wintory, Peter Senchuk, Steven Fox, Gabriela Lena Frank, and Jennifer Higdon.