Hailing from Brisbane, Australia, Leanne Day-Simpson has been a member of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra since 2005. She is currently the ASO's Artistic Operations Manager, as well as a violinist in the orchestra, and has also served as the orchestra’s Music Librarian and Education Coordinator. Beginning the violin at age three, she has toured Europe twice as a soloist with the Stoliarsky School of Music (Australia). The first tour, at age eight, encompassed Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy, as well as a performance for Pope John Paul II at Vatican City. The second tour, at age thirteen, was predominantly in Germany. In 1998, she came to the U.S. to pursue a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance at the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati with Professor Kurt Sassmanshaus. She continued her studies at CCM with the late Professor Constantine Kiradjieff, a former member of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and graduated with an Artist Diploma in 2005. In 2003-2004, Leanne traveled the country as the violinist on the U.S. National Tour of the popular musical, "The Sound of Music". Also in 2004, she was the violinist on the U.S. National Tour of "Fiddler on the Roof". In 2014, Leanne was the soloist on Piazzolla's Primavera Portena (Spring), performing it three times as part of the ASO's I.N.C. series. She has also participated several times on the ASO's chamber series since joining the orchestra. Leanne attended the National Music Camp (Australia), the Aspen Music Festival, the Opera and Music Festival of Lucca (Italy) on two occasions, and CCM's contemporary music festival, Music05. She has also been a core member of the Northern Kentucky Symphony and has been a substitute player in the Queensland Orchestra (Australia), Queensland Philharmonic (Australia), Queensland Symphony Orchestra (Australia), Richmond Symphony (IN), Conway Symphony, Pine Bluff Symphony, Abilene Philharmonic (TX), Texarkana Symphony, South Arkansas Symphony, Fort Smith Symphony, Marshall Symphony (TX), and Shreveport Symphony (LA).