Originally from London, Ontario, cellist Leana Rutt is highly regarded across Canada as a chamber musician, soloist, and orchestral player. Based in Toronto, she holds the position of principal cellist of the Canadian Opera Company.

After completing a Bachelor’s degree at McGill University and a Master’s at the Juilliard School, Leana moved to Winnipeg and spent six years as the assistant principal cellist of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.

In 2016 Leana started playing with the Rosebud Quartet, with whom she has performed at the Rosebud Chamber Music Festival, the Stratford Summer Music Festival, Echo Chamber Toronto, and Stereo Live Toronto. Leana has also been a guest artist at festivals and series across the country including the Ritornello Festival (Saskatoon, SK), Music by the Sea (Bamfield, BC), Festival Pontiac Enchanté (Pontiac, QC), Virtuosi Concerts (Winnipeg, MB), Kaimerata (Denman Island, BC), and the Lunenburg Academy (Lunenburg, NS).

In addition to private teaching, Leana has taught and mentored students of the National Academy Orchestra, the Lunenburg Academy, the Saskatchewan Orchestral Association Strings Workshop, the Winnipeg Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Thunder Bay Symphony Youth Orchestra, and Sistema Winnipeg. She has been an adjudicator for the University of Manitoba and for the Manitoba Provincial Music and Arts Festival, and has performed educational concerts at schools in rural Manitoba and Nova Scotia.

Leana is grateful for the training she received from her principal teachers Terry Sefton, Paul Pulford, Matt Haimovitz and Timothy Eddy, and for the formative summers she spent at the festivals of Lucerne, Aldeburgh, Sarasota, Banff, and Domaine Forget, as well as the Piatigorsky International Cello Festival.