Dominick Leslie

2278 Hiwan Drive Evergreen, Colorado 80439 (303)525-9962

DominickLeslie@comcast.net  www.DominickLeslie.com

At age 3 Dominick Leslie began chopping to the beat on a ukulele with his dad’s bluegrass band.  At age 10 he purchased a Martin guitar with the Christmas and birthday money he had been saving for years.  Just one year later he picked up the mandolin and he hasn’t put it down since. 

By the time he was 12, he began writing his own music and practicing every day.  A few years later at 15, he recorded his first solo CD Signs of Courage which received rave reviews from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine. He placed 1st in the 2004 Rockygrass Mandolin Contest at age 14 becoming the youngest contestant ever to win, and he placed 2nd in the 2005 and 2006 Merlefest Mandolin Contests at ages 15 and 16. He also placed 2nd in the Walnut Valley National Mandolin Championships at Winfield Kansas in 2007.

Dominick’s original recordings have been featured in the Colorado Bluegrass Music Society’s (CBMS) 2006 and 2007 CD Compilations. He was a showcase artist at the 2006 and 2007 IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Awards) in Nashville, and he played at the 2007 Wintergrass Festival as part of the “Changing Face of Bluegrass”: a group of young talented teenagers including Sam Grisman, Sarah Jarosz and Alex Hargreaves. 

Dominick was also featured in Mike Marshall’s Young American Mandolin Ensemble in October 2007.  This is an elite group of seven young musicians who both studied and performed at the Mandolines de Lunel Festival in France. 

He has studied extensively with mandolin masters David Grisman, Chris Thile, Mike Marshall, Don Stiernberg, Andy Statman and Hamilton de Holanda at the Mandolin Symposium at the University Of Santa Cruz every year since it’s inception in 2004. His Bluegrass music roots have evolved into current interests in Jazz, Classical and other musical forms. He has led a jazz trio featuring the mandolin and is currently a member of the progressive Grant Gordy Quartet.

At age 17, Dominick is a senior at Evergreen High School where he has achieved high academic success in the honors program. He has made an extensive contribution to Community Service through nonprofit benefit concerts for many organizations such as The Red Cross, Friendship Bridge, the Mountain Area Land Trust, the Emily Keyes Foundation and Invisible Children. 

Whether writing a new piece, learning a favorite tune or joining a hero on stage, Dominick will always share his love of music with others and enjoy playing the mandolin. Dominick eagerly anticipates his future creating music, playing and performing with his friends and heroes and pursuing his dream of a lifelong career in music.