Lisa's Bio

Musical bio

Lisa's strong and unique vocal style, coupled with a rich and growing diverse, musical sensibility, has kept listeners coming back to her music and her songs.

Influences she grew up with were eclectic and covered the spectrum from Bossa Nova, Latin Jazz, jazz, Pop, Musicals and Folk.  She then became intrigued with music coming from bands and solo artists such as Genesis, Yes, Rich Mullins, Santana, Pink Floyd, Salvador, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, Eagles, Wallflowers and James Taylor, to name a few. 

"I had the opportunity to meet Bonnie Raitt, Joni Mitchell, Amy Grant... I recently met Jonatha Brooke while I was attending the Berklee College of Music 5 week intense summer program in 04.  I listened to their music and and over the years learned how they articulated into song their life and artistry.  From my producer Michael Sauri, and with the help of my listeners and the talented musicians whom I have had the privilege to play alongside with, I have learned and am learning the importance of nurturing this God given creativity and that it is important to keep it growing because it's what makes me who I am and it also  benefits others most of all.  In my artistry I am seeking to live out 'Love thy neighbor as thyself.'"

"I love to see how others find my music a vehicle for their own creativity!  That is exciting to me. Even people who don't play music.  They have seen my music grow...  So it makes them start to think about the hopes and dreams they have carried inside them."

"Music found me," comments Lisa. "It's been a mystery many times to me just how it has continued to play an important role in my life, especially what it means to others.  The message behind Christian music also found me.  How do you go from being immersed in your own world of music to another form of music that carries a specific message of faith, hope, and transformation, and whose central tenet is about a man condemned to die on a cross for the sins of the world?  That was music I had only heard in church growing up."

"Phil Keaggy was the first Christian artist I heard and also Keith Green.  I recently got to hear and see Phil Keaggy in concert and I was so humbled by how many years this man has spent living out his artistry and his faith... How he has kept his creativity going... What makes him pick up his guitar and write songs years later from when he started?  That to me is a mystery and points to a higher power."

"To me the possibilities seem endless, yet when I write I'm still creating from my own personal experiences and limitations and roadblocks.  I am not automatically Joni Mitchell, and neither can I play my guitar like Phil Keaggy.  Yet a space in time has been created for me to write, sing and record songs... I do not classify artists as much anymore into Christian and non-Christian.  There are faith based Christian artists who may be unknown to the Christian music world yet who get up in the morning with Christ alive in their hearts."

"Artistry and faith take years to develop.  Let the journey begin....." 

Music highlights

Lisa has been blessed to share the stage with Karen England, Deana Mears and Randy Stonehill; Lisa has opened for Grammy and Dove Award winners Selah, Christian Comedian Burt Rosenburg, and priest and WOLC radio personality Father Joe Breighner.

She has shared her music in hundreds of settings.

Lisa has shared her songs and communicated Christ's redeeming love in city streets, the capitol steps in Annapolis MD for National Day of Prayer rallies, hospitals, weddings, nursing homes, festivals, men's prison, retreats, churches, coffeehouses, parks, Borders Books, singles groups, special services, benefit concerts for missionaries and other ministries, outreaches, healing services, and on board several ships.

Virginia, Washington D.C., Eastern Shore, Baltimore, Pennsylvania (Hershey Park Christian Day), Nashville and Franklin TN, New York, Colorado.

She has received requests for her CDs from Great Britain, Japan and Australia.

Radio and TV events:

• WJRO 1590 AM Interview and airplay
• WOLC Joy! 102.5 Contact Delmarva interview
• Fairfax Cable TV show on songwriting

Recognition:

• Semi-finalist at Estes Park Christian Artists National Competition.
• Two time Washington Area WAMMIE nominee for Best Gospel/Inspirational Vocalist.

CDs:

• A Promise for Tomorrow - produced by former GLAD keyboard / vocalist Paul Langford.
• Glimpses - produced by former Fighting Gravity guitarist Michael Sauri.
• PIVOT - produced by Michael Sauri.
• Compilation CD: CMC MusicFest 2003

Seminar speaker:

Led two seminars on Faith, Music and Artistry for the Songwriters' Association of Washington.

Worship leader:

Served as Worship Leader for Ephesians Life Ministries with her husband Paul for 7 and half years, 1992 - 1999.

Band: The Lisa Fenstermacher Band.
God brought musicians together that have sacrificially given their time and musical talent to help develop my music and refine my commitment to carry the music out into the world.

They are:

• Paul Fenstermacher - acoustic and electric guitars
• Mike Shipley - drums and percussion
• Kevin Kost - bass

Guest artists:

• Michael Sauri - lead and rhythm electric guitar, background vocals

Personal bio

Romans 5:3 "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character; and character, hope."

Lisa's songs come out of major losses. Yet her faith, which she has sustained by God's grace, has the final say in her songs. People don't come away from her concerts feeling down. She has led other hurting and lonely hearts to Christ in her concerts and through her website. "The most exciting opportunity came from a person contacting me through the website about their conversion to Christianity. I was able to send a Bible to them", says Lisa. This is what fuels Lisa's music.

She lost her mother before she was 4 years old. Lisa says "My grandmother was a woman of faith. Her prayers have stood the test of time. I remember praying to God that I wanted my life to be straightened out before she went home. He honored that by a series of events that led to me re-dedicating my life to Jesus Christ and learning about Christian music in the early 80s." Since then it has been a "Journey of Grace", the title of one of her songs from her latest EP "Glimpses."

Lisa comes from a diverse background that includes Italian, Hispanic and Dutch cultures. She can understand and speak Spanish, while English is her native tongue. "I feel I grew up in two cultures. I grew up in an American home with American parents but was greatly influenced by my strong faith-filled Hispanic grandmother. My aunt, who was also greatly involved in my life, worked as a VP for Public Relations for Con Edison in New York, while my dad served as a Marine in Korea and was founder/CEO of his own company. My great-aunt Pura Belpre was a children's book author and has a public school dedicated in her name in New York City."

Though coming from a well-respected hard working family, life was punctuated by challenges that led Lisa, many times, to her knees in prayer. "Because of my dad's and family's belief to not succumb but rather to meet life's challenges, I went ahead and jumped into Christian Contemporary music, after much prayer, seeking and advising by gate-keepers in Christian Contemporary Music." Russ Hollingsworth, former staff writer for Word Records and founder of Nashville's Doulos music ministry training school, after hearing Lisa sing said "You need to be doing this." Christian music consultant Dave Bunker said, "You are a female Rich Mullins, with a voice reminiscent of Amy Grant."

Lisa says, "When I started there were very few major CCM American Hispanic artists. The experiences of having had off-handed comments and wide-eyed looks early on brought hurt, but God has always brought someone to encourage me to keep going. God has been faithful to continue to provide open doors and opportunities to share and develop as an artist, even when I have felt totally at a loss and felt like I just wanted to give up completely. I have shared my faith and music as an indie artist in settings ranging from urban to rural. It's been a growing and a refining. I am able to go in and out of all different ethnic and socio-economic groups and feel comfortable. Maybe God had intended that all along. That is where Music with a Mission was born out of."

"My life, though having had some material comforts, has not been easy. Grief and loss baptizes you into the 'fellowship of the suffering.'" Lisa's songs, though birthed out of tragedy and loss, are filtered through Christ's healing and redemptive, restorative love, forgiveness and grace. "I have seen God restore hope and purpose in the lives of family and friends, even strangers who have communicated to me during concerts or through the website," says Lisa.