Time Is Money: Lisa Dondlinger on Life as a Session Violinist (Episode 120)

Reliability beats virtuosity.

Lisa Dondlinger has the chops of a virtuoso, and she still treats every call like she could be replaced tomorrow. That is a big part of why she keeps getting called. Peabo Bryson called her "the finest first chair in the business." She has performed and recorded with Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Andrea Bocelli, Stevie Wonder and many more, played concertmaster on shows like the GRAMMYs and American Idol, and played on scores including Passengers and Finding Dory.

In Episode 120, Nomad and Lisa (who first worked together behind Leona Lewis at the 2008 American Music Awards) get into what it really takes to work as a session violinist in LA: the practice, the leadership, the click, the email and the clock.

Blur the lines and entertain the room

Lisa grew up in Iowa playing strictly classical, in a house that listened to country, rock and Top 40. The turning point was winning Miss Iowa. At Miss America she learned that classical music impresses an audience but does not always entertain it. Inspired by violinist Vanessa-Mae, she started mixing classical pieces with dance and rock beats. The first time she did it, with an electric violin on a runway, the whole audience jumped out of their seats. Her mission since: get the classical audience to love pop, and the pop audience to love classical.

Then she did something many players would call crazy. Instead of taking orchestra and college jobs, she moved to Los Angeles, where she knew no one.

"I was a really big fish in a small pond. I needed to go back to being the small fish in a big pond."

Lisa Dondlinger, 16:08

Never stop practicing

Lisa credits work ethic first. Her teacher at Indiana, one of the great violinists of his era, was still practicing scales at 9 a.m. in his seventies before teaching. She made a pledge that day never to stop, and she still runs scales, arpeggios, thirds, octaves, shifting exercises and concertos even when the gig is pop.

"You cannot be afraid of hard work, because if you are, then 20 other people are going to be right behind you, ready to work hard."

Lisa Dondlinger, 20:44

Two practical tips from the episode: learn the road map of your instrument, so your first finger always knows where every position is. And use the metronome, but build your internal clock too. When you show up to play pop, you had better be comfortable on a click. Some classical players are used to playing behind the beat, and in her words, that is not going to fly.

Lead without being a tyrant

As concertmaster, Lisa sits between the conductor and the section. Her job is to translate what the conductor wants into instructions players can use: less bow, shorter, more together, more on top of the click. And she does it without the old-school dictator style. She will simply say this is how the conductor has asked us to play, so this is how we are going to do it together.

Nomad pointed out the flip side. When Lisa is hired as a section player, she follows. You are hired for a specific role. If you are not the leader on that date, don't act like it, or you won't get hired much. That is Humility from the ETHOS code, and it is also why LA keeps calling her back. She was also honest that LA can be cutthroat. She had to grow a thicker skin, and she refuses to climb the ladder in ways that don't feel right.

Time is money, so be early and be ready

When a music director calls on a Friday for a Saturday 10 a.m. TV rehearsal with four pop stars, you say yes, and you don't show up at 10. On time is late. Lisa's sight-reading came from a college orchestra that read new symphonies every day, with a conductor who made the freshman concertmaster sight-read the solos in front of everyone. If you don't have that kind of training, she says, create it for yourself, because in a session, time is money.

Nomad broke down why: studio time, multiple engineers, a producer, a conductor and a full section, all on the clock. You do not want to be the reason for another take. In a section, she reminded everyone, you can be replaced easily.

"You get known as either the person who was late or the person that didn't... You never want that reputation."

Lisa Dondlinger, 52:45

She went to the wrong studio once, years into her career, 45 minutes early on autopilot. She called the booking service in a panic and made the date five minutes late. One mulligan. Now she double-checks everything, arrives about 30 minutes early, and expects no warm-up: you sit down, plug in your headphones and play. Calls come by email, sometimes with a five-minute window to answer. Being reachable is part of the job. That is Reliability beats virtuosity in practice.

Know your residuals, and build your own voice

Nomad is a big advocate for the musicians union, and Lisa explained residuals plainly: on-camera work, national jingles and films can keep paying long after the date, which is one reason players drop everything for the right call. Nomad still gets residuals from the first film he played on in LA, Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

But for Lisa, success is not only being hired. Studio players have no contract and are always waiting for the next thing. Her proudest moments are her own projects, including an album and orchestra show of classical and movie-music mashups. At that concert the audience got up and danced, just like that night at Miss Iowa. She also learned Pro Tools during the pandemic, "kicking and screaming," and invested in a proper remote rig so she sounds like herself. Make Music Your Business.

The takeaway

Lisa calls success what happens when preparation meets opportunity. At TCM we say Luck = preparation + opportunity. Practice like you will never be good enough. Lead with kindness, follow with humility, show up early and be ready to play the first take. If you want help getting the call in the first place, start with the free Get the Gig guide, and find Lisa at lisadondlinger.com.

Get the gig. Keep the gig. Build the career.

Watch on YouTube or find every episode on the TCM Podcast page.