Lisa Van Winkle currently serves as the Instructor of Flute and Coordinator of the Music Business program at New Mexico State University where she enjoys a diverse career as a teacher, recitalist, soloist, and orchestral musician. Recent performance highlights include an invitation to perform at the William Bennett International Summer Flute School in Farnham, England (2004, 2005) and an invitation to perform at the National Flute Association Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2001.
Dr. Van Winkle currently serves as the principal flutist with the Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra and the NMSU Faculty Woodwind Quintet. Her professional orchestra experience includes the El Paso Symphony, the El Paso Opera Company, the Doña Ana Lyric Opera, the Sun City Chorale, the Bruce Nehring Consort, and the Chamber Players de Las Cruces.
In 1996, the Mirage Duo was founded by Van Winkle and pianist, Melba Halamicek. They have performed concerts throughout the southwestern United States including New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona. Dr. Van Winkle co-founded New Mexico State University's Flute Fusion, a community outreach program that includes a full day of clinics for flutists ranging from middle school through college and adult levels. Van Winkle has actively participated in the National Flute Association and will serve as the assistant to the program chair for the 2007 national convention to be held in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Dr. Van Winkle has earned performance degrees from The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (DMA, 2005) and New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM (MM, 1996). She has also earned a Bachelor of Music Education from New Mexico State University (1994) and a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in management from West Texas A & M, Canyon, TX (1980).
Her business background combined with her formal music training has allowed her to work in such diverse fields as arts management and the banking and insurance industries. She was the business manager of the Eugene Symphony Orchestra, Eugene, Oregon and has worked in upper management of the United New Mexico Bank as the Assistant Cashier responsible for managing the bank's operational area.