Joel B. Lish

March 11, 1935 – March 5, 2024

Joel B. Lish, founder and former music director of Palisades Symphony, passed away quietly on March 5, surrounded by his family. He would have turned 89 on March 11.

Joel was born in Brooklyn, but moved to California with his family at an early age. His father was a musician, and Joel and his brother Merrill were given music lessons.

While attending Verdugo Hills High School, Joel wanted to play in a string quartet that was being formed. However, he was one of three violinists wanting to play in that quartet, so Joel was persuaded by a teacher to try the viola. As it turned out, he excelled on the viola.

After graduating from high school when he was just 16, Joel enrolled in the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music. Later he enlisted in the United States Air Force after being told that he would be able to join the Air Force Symphony. This turned out to be a false promise, but he still made the most of his four years in the Air Force.

While stationed in Denver, Joel studied viola and played with an orchestra. During his last two years in the Air Force he was stationed in Okinawa. At the request of some of the local musicians he started a small group of string players and taught himself to conduct. They played several concerts for the locals and the service members.

When he left Okinawa, another service member continued his work. Joel was surprised to learn many years later that this group eventually evolved into the Okina-wa Symphony and that he was considered the founder of that orchestra.

After his honorable discharge from the Air Force in 1957, Joel attended CSUN and earned a master’s degree in teaching. He taught music at Nobel Junior High School in Northridge for several years, and then in 1965 he was invited to teach music at Palisades High School, which had opened only four years earlier. In 1970 Joel became chair of the Music Department of Palisades High School, where he remained until he retired from teaching in 1995.

While still in his first year of teaching at Palisades High, Joel started Palisades Symphony in early 1966. He had some very good music students at Palisades High, and he started the orchestra in order to provide them with an additional opportunity to play orchestral music.

In this endeavor, Joel was incredibly fortunate to meet Eva Holberg, a Pacific Palisades music-lover and volunteer, who eventually became the president of the orchestra and ran it successfully for more than 50 years until her death at age 91 in 2022.

Palisades Symphony continues to thrive in the community. The orchestra presents seven concerts every year, which are always free and open to the public. Two of these concerts are in collaboration with the Brentwood-Palisades Chorale, and one is a showcase for young local artists. The orchestra welcomes community members who enjoy playing orchestral music.

Joel’s retirement from full-time teaching allowed him to devote more time to his other career as a professional violist. Joel has performed casual, strolling, chamber and orchestral music with many ensembles throughout the Los Angeles area.

For many years he was an entertainer at the Jewish Home for the Aged in Reseda. He sometimes worked on cruise ships as a solo violist, taking requests from passengers as they were enjoying their dinner. He especially enjoyed his work with Murray Korda’s “Monseigneur Strings”—a group of musicians who were renowned in the Los Angeles area for playing for high-end society functions for presidents and Hollywood royalty.

Joel was an expert at hearing the harmony and creating his own inner lines on the viola, weaving in and out of the music as the other string players played the melody. Joel also participated in many studio recordings and films for motion picture and television.

His teaching and conducting led him to work with performing organizations of all age groups. For several years he conducted the Los Angeles Mandolin Orchestra, producing a recording of that group. He also mentored student groups at Crossroads School for several years. He loved conducting the Floating Strings, a group of musicians, both amateur and professional, who enjoyed the chance to gather in various locations during the summers to read through music for string ensembles.

In early June of 2011 Joel received a very unexpected call. The Casa Italiana Opera Company desperately needed him to conduct its performance of “Pagliacci” the next day. Joel had never conducted that opera before. He spent that evening studying the score. The next day, with only a minimum amount of time for a quick run-through of the music with the orchestra, he led a very successful performance of the opera. He continued as the conductor for Casa Italiana Opera Company for several years, conducting several major operas.

In addition to all these activities, Joel created Middle Fiddle Music, a small music publishing company, that sold his wonderful arrangements of classical works for small string ensembles—duets, trios and quartets.

Joel was an essential, deeply connected member of the Los Angeles classical music community. His leadership of Palisades Symphony always stood at the center of his activities.

Joel leaves behind his wife, cellist Jan Kelley-Lish. Their paths had crossed probably hundreds of times over the last 60 years, and they married almost 10 years ago.

Joel was her perfect partner. Together they played duets, worked on Joel’s arrangements, and enjoyed spending time and playing chamber music with their friends. During Covid they collaborated with their close friends Judy, Jeff and Denisa and new friend Josh, and as the “DJs” they presented more than 40 patio concerts in Studio City.

Joel also leaves two sons—Dr. Benjamin Lish (Gigi) of Ventura and Michael Lish (Kristin) of Bend, Oregon. He also leaves one grandchild, Noa Lish, of Olancha, his sister-in-law Marganit Lish, and three nieces—Dina Reisman, Tamar/Tammy Lish Spencer, and Etsuko Yoshida. Joel’s first wife, Kyoko Lish, passed away in 2006.

Joel also leaves hundreds of devoted friends and admiring former students who seemed to turn up almost every place where he went. And although he has gone from his beloved Palisades Symphony and is greatly missed by all of the musicians, he left his orchestra in the very capable hands of the new President Denisa Hanna and the new permanent conductor Dr. Maxim Kuzin.

There will be a memorial service held for Joel in the next few weeks. Details will be posted on the orchestra website.

Contributions in Joel’s honor can be sent to Palisades Symphony: P.O. Box 214, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272 or palisadessymphony.org.