Violinist Lesley Donahue was born and raised in the Faribault/Owatonna area in Southern
Minnesota. She studied with Charles Gray at St. Olaf College through high school and continued
her studies with Mark Bartley at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Lesley
attended Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania where she studied with Irene Cheng of
the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and internationally renowned pianist Alec Chien, Artist-in-
Residence and Chair of the Music Department of Allegheny College. Lesley spent time abroad in
France where she played across the country with the orchestra at l’Université Catholique de
l’Ouest in Angers, France. Lesley holds a BS in Chemistry and French from Allegheny College and
an MAT in Chemistry from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.
Lesley enjoys playing symphony and chamber music alike and is co-founder of three string
groups over the years: a string trio, Trio d’Oro; a piano trio, Trio d’Argento; and a string quartet,
The Corellian Quartet. Lesley has been a member of the Central Lakes Symphony Orchestra
since 2014. She plays frequently as a substitute for the Saint Cloud Symphony Orchestra and the
Fargo Moorhead Symphony Orchestra.
Lesley lives in Alexandria with her husband Greg Donahue, local attorney and Concertmaster of
the Central Lakes Symphony Orchestra, and their three daughters who also have a passion for
music and the arts. When she doesn’t have a violin in her hands, Lesley can be found digging in
the garden, paddling on the lakes, or on grand adventures any time of year with her family.
