Welcome to Hideaway Ukulele Studio! My name is Denise Leslie - owner and instructor. This is a little bit about who I am and how the studio has become to be the “hub” for ukulele fun in Durango, Colorado.

I have been in the music world since I was a young child. I grew up in a small southern Indiana town and was involved in church and school choirs and high school band. I play the piano, organ, flute, bassoon, guitar and the ukulele. I performed in a gospel trio - The Gospel Lights - and sang with our ‘award-winning’ barbershop quartet all throughout my high school days. For more than 30 years, I played piano and organ for church congregations. I grew up always wanting to be a music teacher, but chose a different path - marriage and motherhood…which is a true joy!  I have three beautiful children and four lively grandchildren!

As time passed I began a career working for a Ogden Entertainment - a corporation that managed concert venues, stadiums and performing arts centers. As marketing director, I promoted music from classical to rock, country and reggae; to theatre from Broadway, dance and theatrical plays; to sporting events such as rodeos, wrestling, monster trucks, ice skating and gymnastic competitions and NCAA basketball tournaments; to movie and music festivals – both indoor and outdoor, trade shows and visual art exhibitions and studio tours.

I met my husband, Charles during my time with Ogden Entertainment and we soon relocated to Austin, Texas. Moving to a large city spawned a lot of new adventures for me and l began consulting with artists and arts organizations as my experience spans many different areas in arts and entertainment from marketing and sales to event management. I worked in various positions and contracted by the University of Texas, Austin Lyric Opera, Austin Musical Theatre, Austin Circle of Theatres, Fired Up Foundation, Texas Parks & Wildlife, The Crossings Retreat Center and the Central Texas Food Bank.

In 2009 Charles and I relocated to Durango, Colorado and I started a publishing business focussing on arts and culture in the Four Corners Region and I produced playbills for regional arts organizations. We purchased a quarterly arts publication, Arts Perspective magazine where I was the publisher, editor, sales director - I think you get the idea! After about 5 years of running my own business, music began to call to me again - only more out of stress management than anything else. Music has a way to heal and reduce stress - many studies have proven that, but for me, that totally rings true.

As I began to renew my love of music, I purchased a ukulele at the local music store and started attending several well-known ukulele festivals to hone my skills. It was then I saw the perfect scenario for a new endeavor right here in Durango, Colorado, I started gathering like minded, ukulele playing folks and began performing and teaching. In 2015, I created the Rocky Mountain UkeFest and spent the next 9 years presenting educational opportunities and performances with ukulele professionals from all over the world. From July 2015 to July 2022, the annual festival hosted presenters including Daniel Ward, Heidi Swedberg, John Bartlit, Sarah Maisel & Craig Chee, Jason Arimoto, Danielle Ate the Sandwich, Mark Baker, Victor & Penny, Mark Jackson & Jane Jelbert, Gerald Ross, Kevin Carroll, Victoria Vox, Peter Luongo, Mark Luongo, Craig McClelland, Marnie Ward and Devin Scott. 

In 2020, I opened Hideaway Ukulele Studio where I teach music, hosts workshops and sell ukuleles and accessories. My students range from 5 to 90 years old. I provide the music curriculum for the Durango Montessori school program and have developed a ukulele orchestra, as well as I perform solo or with friends and groups at venues and homes throughout the region. In 2023, I sold the Rocky Mountain UkeFest to Devin Scott - a budding ukulele leader throughout the country and look forward to supporting the continuing love of the ukulele and music.  I continue to host ukulele jams and special workshops throughout the year - enjoying a life filled with music.