Dominick Leslie

Colorado native Dominick Leslie is a fourth semester student at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. He has been around live music all his life and thanks to his dad, he has been playing since he was old enough to hold an instrument. He attended his first bluegrass festival at the age of five months and grew up listening to his dad’s bluegrass band and extensive record collection. The same year he was potty-trained, he acquired a ukulele tuned like the bottom four strings of a guitar. As the years went by Dominick developed a deep passion for music. This love for music was apparent at an early age as Dominick’s abilities progressed rapidly on guitar, fiddle and mandolin. Eventually Dominick switched his focus completely to the mandolin and by the time he was 12, he was writing his own music and practicing every day. Just a few years later at 15, he recorded his first solo CD “Signs of Courage” which received rave reviews from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine. In 2004, Dominick became the youngest contestant ever to win the Rockygrass mandolin contest. Since then he has placed first in the Merlefest mandolin contest and second in the Walnut Valley International Mandolin contest. Dominick was also featured in Mike Marshall’s Young American Mandolin Ensemble. This elite group of seven young musicians was invited to perform with Mike at the Mandolines de Lunel festival in France in October of 2007.
He has studied with mandolin virtuosos David Grisman, Chris Thile, Mike Marshall, Don Stiernberg, Andy Statman and Hamilton de Holanda at the Mandolin Symposium at the University Of Santa Cruz and his bluegrass/old-time music roots have evolved into current interests in jazz, classical, and other folk music forms, hence his enrollment at Berklee.
Starting in the summer of 2009, Dominick had the incredible opportunity of touring nearly full time with Missy Raines and her band The New Hip. Missy has been named the International Bluegrass Music Awards bass player of the year seven times.
Dominick is currently a member of several progressive string bands from around the nation including The Grant Gordy Quartet (Grant is the newest member of the renowned David Grisman Quintet), The Deadly Gentlemen and The Bee Eaters. "The Bee Eaters are the instrumental cream of the brand new string nation." - Darol Anger
Whether writing a new piece, learning a tune or joining a hero on stage, Dominick will always share his love of music with others and enjoy playing the mandolin.