Carol Leone is Associate Professor and Head of Piano at Southern Methodist University. Dr. Leone has received national recognition as a performing artist. She has been a prizewinner in international and national piano competitions such as the National Beethoven Sonata Competition, the Missouri Southern International Piano Competition, and the International Masters Competition.  In 2005, the Texas Music Teachers Association named her Collegiate Teacher of the Year.  

Dr. Leone has performed and taught throughout the United States and in Austria, Italy, England, Germany, Russia, the Czech Republic, and South Korea. She has also made solo radio and television appearances. Her professional training has included study at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where she received a diploma and was a student of Polish pianist Mieczeslaw Horszowski. Dr. Leone was also a student of the late Italian pianist Guido Agosti in Rome and holds an Honors Diploma from the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Italy. She has received the Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of North Texas College of Music.

Dr. Leone has developed an award-winning studio of college and pre-college students, and is active as a teacher, lecturer, and adjudicator. Her master classes are highly regarded for her engaging teaching style as well as for her expertise in solving technical problems. She is the author of a piano technique method called "In Your Grasp."

Dr. Leone is currently conducting a study regarding the effectiveness of the reduced-size keyboard for young or small-handed pianists for proper technical training and the reduction of injuries. In addition to performing solo and chamber music, she is a member of two duo-piano teams, one with her husband, Regan Smith, and the other with colleague Dr. Catharine Lysinger.