From here she was given theatrical parts with productions by the amateur Risley Operatic Group, including the title role in Gilbert and Sullivan's Iolanthe in 1952, produced by her father.
She didn't finish the course, but instead went to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama on a scholarship, entering with the inaugural Kathleen Ferrier Award in 1956.
[7] With an Arts Council award and at the advice of baritone and conductor Dietrich Fischer Dieskau she went to study in Berlin, but this proved unsuccessful and she returned to England.
At the age of 26, her mother submitted her name to John and Aida Dickens (Joan Sutherland's teachers) who awarded Maureen a scholarship consisting of seven years' free tuition.
[12] Her repertoire extended from early composers such as Monteverdi, Handel and Bach through Brahms and Wagner to Honegger, Britten and Skalkottas.
While lecturing in the music department at Reading University, Lehane began inviting students for weekends at her home in Great Elm, where they performed and had picnics.
[15] Following Peter's death, Lehane felt her heart was no longer in this tradition, but the students at Reading were keen to continue.
[21] Maureen Lehane died in hospital on 27 December 2010 after a long battle with multiple system atrophy a rare, life-limiting brain disease.
[22] On 21 October 2011, the Jackdaws Music Education Trust combined the 'Maureen Lehane Vocal Awards 2011' with a Celebration Gala Concert consisting of a day of events commemorating her life and work, titled We are the Music Makers[23] and ending with the final performances for the Maureen Lehane Vocal Awards at Wigmore Hall in the afternoon.