Lisa Saito, age 14, began her musical education in Japan, starting violin at age 3 and piano at age 4. Currently, she studies violin with Robin Sharp.

At age 10, Lisa made her orchestral debut with the Stanford Summer Symphony at Bing Concert Hall. She won the 2022 and 2023 Golden State Youth Orchestra (GSYO) Concerto Competitions, and soloed with the GSYO Senior Symphony in 2022. Most recently, Lisa performed with the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra as their 25-26 Debut Artist in a concert series in San Francisco, Berkeley, and Palo Alto.

Lisa joined the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra (SFSYO) at age 11 as the youngest member and was the second violin principal in the 25-26 season. She was also the youngest member of the GSYO Senior Symphony, where she performed in the GSYO 60th Anniversary Concert as assistant concertmaster and participated in their 2022 Europe Tour.

Lisa most recently won first place in the 2026 KAMSA (Korean-American Music Supporters’ Association) Competition and 2025 Bellagrande International Music Competition. She has also received top prizes from the Pacific Musical Society & Foundation Competition, Enkor Competition, Music International Grand Prix, Burlingame Music Club Young Musicians Competition, and the USOMC (United States Open Music Competition). She was a finalist in the SFSYO Concerto Competition twice and, in 2026, received honorable mention. Lisa was also selected to perform at the Junior Bach Festival for seven consecutive years and, in 2025 and 2026, was chosen for the Honors Concert, which featured the highest-scoring festival participants.

Lisa has attended numerous summer music programs, including the Vivace Festival (2026), Music@Menlo (2025, 2024, 2023), the Heifetz Institute of Music (2023), and the Tateuchi Institute of Music (2022, 2021). At the 2026 Vivace Festival, she received the Vivace Award, which includes a full scholarship to Vivace 2027 and performance opportunities throughout the coming year. Additionally, Lisa is an avid chamber player and has been part of the Young Chamber Musicians Program (YCM) for two seasons. Prior to YCM, she participated in the Santa Clara Chamber Music & Young Musicians Academy.

Lisa enjoys performing for her community as a soloist and as a chamber musician for nursing homes like the Channing House, The Hamilton, private events, and board meetings like the Silicon Valley League of the San Francisco Symphony. In the summers of 2024 and 2026, she also gave a solo recital on both violin and piano at the Tokyo Women’s Plaza Hall in Japan.