American pianist Carol Leone is active as a soloist and chamber musician, appearing throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. A successful recording artist, Leone can be heard on MSR Classics, Gasparo, Crystal, and Augusta Read Thomas labels. Her recording, “Change of Keys” on MSR Classics garnered two 2016 Silver Global Awards.  Of this recording, Fanfare magazine stated, “Leone plays with drive and sparkle, and with plenty of wit.”  Regarding Leone’s Mozart, Dallas Morning News wrote of her “luminous tone… she took us into another, quite magical world.”  Dr. Leone is Chair of Piano Studies and Professor of Piano at Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of the Arts in Dallas, Texas.

Leone’s professional training included study with legendary Polish pianist Mieczysław Horszowski at the Curtis Institute of Music, where she received the Performance Certificate. She was a private student of Guido Agosti in Rome following study at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, where she earned the coveted Honors Diploma. She ultimately earned her doctorate from the UNT College of Music. During her studies, Leone was successful in several national piano competitions, including being awarded first prize in the National Beethoven Sonata Piano competition.

At SMU, she has performed frequently as concerto soloist with the Meadows Symphony Orchestra and as part of a faculty piano trio with violinist Aaron Boyd and cellist Andres Diaz. She has also performed regularly with the Grammy-nominated contemporary music ensemble Voices of Change.

Over the course of her 40-year career as a university piano professor, Dr. Leone has mentored a diverse group of talented students. Many of these individuals have gone on to achieve significant success, including becoming recording artists, esteemed university professors, and influential leaders within the profession. Leone has recently served as a guest teacher or lecturer at schools such as The Juilliard School, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, the State University of Music and Performing Arts in Stuttgart, Trinity Laban Conservatory in London, Shanghai Normal University, and several Italian conservatories. She has served on the music faculty of summer festivals in Moscow, Vienna, South Korea, the Czech Republic, and Italy, and is regularly on the summer piano faculty of the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Italy.

Considered one of the world’s leading advocates and presenters of pianos with narrower keyboards, Dr. Leone has energized a worldwide movement to transform pianists’ artistry and wellness. She is a co-founder of the global movement Pianists for Alternatively Sized Keyboards and of the International Stretto Piano Festival and serves as a board member for the DS Standard Foundation.