Lisa Elders, the Guild Music Maven

Hear that? It’s the faint strains of a flute floating down the hallway of the Creative Arts Guild. Follow the sound, and you’ll likely find yourself listening in on a lesson with our very own Lisa Elders, music teacher, performer, and lifelong lover of the arts.

For Lisa, teaching at the Guild is a dream come true. “What better job than teaching someone the gift of music, then hearing them bring an inanimate instrument to life? You’re literally teaching someone a new language, and that’s very rewarding.” Which might help explain why she has been with the Guild since the year 2000.

The Guild’s family atmosphere has been as important to her as the music itself. When Lisa was caring for her parents, she needed a flexible schedule, and the Guild gave her that gift. “It really allowed me to be present for my family,” she says, “and that meant everything.”

Lisa’s teaching philosophy is personal as well. She has worked with students ranging in age from three to seventy-three, a task which requires flexibility and the ability to adapt to each person’s talents and learning style, which, she says, is the beauty of private lessons.

“I can tailor instruction to the student. No two lessons are ever the same.”

While Lisa teaches flute, piano, and saxophone, she admits that the flute is her first love. She started playing in fifth grade at Antioch Elementary in Dalton, and says she never looked back.

“If I had to do it all over again, I’d still choose flute. I think it’s one of the most beautiful instruments there is.”

As a teenager, hearing the magical notes of Flight of the Bumblebee for the very first time, she dreamed of one day performing it with an orchestra. She attended Jacksonville State University in Alabama, where she earned a B.S. in Music Education and B.A. in Music, followed by an Associate degree in Music Business and a Master of Music in Flute Performance from Georgia State University in Atlanta. She counts among her mentors Ronnie Gaddis, the former band director at Southeast Whitfield High School, and Dr. Jerryl Davis, her private teacher at Jacksonville State University.

Not surprisingly, she realized her dream of performing with the L’Abri Symphony Orchestra, where she now serves as principal flute. She also performs with the Rome Area Flute Ensemble, the Rome Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Players of the South, Northwest Georgia Winds, and the Dalton Whitfield Community Band, and frequently shares her talent at churches throughout the region.

Lisa traces her musical roots back to her father, a gifted guitarist who could play anything he heard by ear. “Any musical talent I have, I got from him,” she says.

Outside of the Guild, Lisa is a devoted caretaker to her cats. In fact, when asked what she would be doing if she wasn’t teaching or performing music, she says she’d be living at the beach and running a cat sanctuary. But for now, the Guild is thrilled (and lucky) to have her on their team, passing along her love of music to young and old alike.

Learn more about everything our Music Department has to offer here.

-Story by Dana Shavin, Guild Literary Arts Coordinator