Hailing from Brisbane, Australia, Leanne Day-Simpson has been a member of the Arkansas
Symphony Orchestra since 2005. She is currently the ASO's Artistic Operations Manager, as
well as a violinist in the orchestra, and has also served as the orchestra’s Music Librarian and
Education Coordinator.
Beginning the violin at age three, she has toured Europe twice as a soloist with the Stoliarsky
School of Music (Australia). The first tour, at age eight, encompassed Germany, Austria,
Switzerland, and Italy, as well as a performance for Pope John Paul II at Vatican City. The
second tour, at age thirteen, was predominantly in Germany. In 1998, she came to the U.S. to
pursue a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance at the College-Conservatory of Music,
University of Cincinnati with Professor Kurt Sassmanshaus. She continued her studies at
CCM with the late Professor Constantine Kiradjieff, a former member of the Cincinnati
Symphony Orchestra, and graduated with an Artist Diploma in 2005.
In 2003-2004, Leanne traveled the country as the violinist on the U.S. National Tour of the
popular musical, "The Sound of Music". Also in 2004, she was the violinist on the U.S.
National Tour of "Fiddler on the Roof". In 2014, Leanne was the soloist on Piazzolla's
Primavera Portena (Spring), performing it three times as part of the ASO's I.N.C. series. She
has also participated several times on the ASO's chamber series since joining the orchestra.
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