Leah Chae

Violin/Viola

Leah Chae completed her Doctor of Music in Violin Performance at Indiana University under the instruction of Mimi Zweig, a professor of violin and viola at Indiana University and director of IU String Academy. While pursuing a master’s degree at IU, Leah started her teaching career at IU String Academy where she worked as a violin faculty until she left IU and also became an Associate Instructor for Professor Zweig, from which she earned a full scholarship and stipend for the rest of her doctoral coursework. Active as a performer while studying at IU, she studied chamber music with Jorja Fleezanis, Ik-Hwan Bae, and Pacifica Quartet, and had appeared in many solo recitals, orchestra performances, and chamber music concerts. In addition to the modern violin playing and teaching, she also studied Baroque violin with Stanley Ritchie at IU. She is also an active accompanist and has appeared in recitals, masterclasses, and competitions for string players and singers.

Leah has done her Suzuki training for violin with Charles Krigbaum and Daina Volodka Staggs, and for piano with Rita Hauck. Other than her duty at SMID, Leah teaches at El Centro college where she serves as adjunct faculty and also works as Teaching Artist of Young Musicians Program at Dallas Symphony Orchestra. In the spare time she loves spending time with her husband, Kevin, her children, Erin and John, and two cats, Bob and Johny.