Violin, Viola
Education
Leslie received her B.F.A from SUNY Purchase, M.M. from Boston University, completed a Fellowship Program from Tanglewood and has attended the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder and Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute.
Performance and Teaching Experience
Leslie has held numerous positions within local and national ensembles including the National Philharmonic as section first violin, Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, Opera Lafayette, Bach Consort, Bach Sinfonia, Cathedral Baroque Orchestra, Baltimore Opera Orchestra, National Gallery Orchestra, Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, Chesapeake Orchestra, section first violin and Prince George’s Philharmonic as guest concertmaster.
In addition to teaching at Levine, Leslie maintains a private violin/viola studio and teaches at the National Philharmonic Summer Strings Institute.
Twice in the past three years, Leslie has had the pleasure of performing at the Palace at Versailles, France, with Opera Lafayette (a period instrument opera company).
At Levine
Leslie has been on faculty at the Levine Strings Camp and Strings Plus Summer Programs since 1998 and a full-time faculty member since 2014. She is currently teaching violin and viola, and serves as a chamber music coach.
“I love teaching at Levine because I get to work with very motivated students who are from many different parts of the world.”
Teaching Philosophy and Approach
“I am a traditional violin teacher following in the footsteps of the great master violin teachers. My teachers, Joseph Silverstein, Rafael Druian and Lewis Kaplan, all passed on methods that have successfully produced new generations of violinists. I teach using a 3-part approach of scales, etudes and pieces tailored to the individual student. I encourage the student to move forward to the best of his/her ability but it is not a course set in stone; I try to judge what will be in the best interest of that particular student.”
Personal
Because she has lived abroad for a number of years, Leslie has a great interest in foreign languages and other cultures. She also enjoys swimming and running.