Born in Linz, Austria, Gundula Leitner began studying the cello at an early age. Her formal education culminated at the Mozarteum University Salzburg, where she studied with Wilfried Tachezi, Enrico Bronzi, and Clemens Hagen—completing both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees with distinction. Her development was further shaped through masterclasses with distinguished cellists including Wolfgang Boettcher, Maria Kliegel, and Heinrich Schiff, whose mentorship helped shape her unique musical voice.

Gundula's orchestral career spans many of Europe's foremost opera houses and symphony orchestras. From 2022 to 2024, she served as Sub-Principal Cellist at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London. She is currently Associate Principal Cellist of the Frankfurt Museum and Opera Orchestra, and has also appeared in the same role with the London Symphony Orchestra. Her skill as a section leader has led to regular invitations as guest principal with the Stuttgart State Opera, the Saarbrücken State Theater, and the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra. In 2017, she was appointed temporary Principal Cellist at La Monnaie Opera House in Brussels. Between 2015 and 2020, she frequently performed with the Vienna Philharmonic, Vienna State Opera, WDR Symphony Orchestra, and the Bamberg Symphony—contributing to numerous international tours and recordings.

Alongside her orchestral work, Gundula is a passionate chamber musician. She is a founding member of the Agnes Quartet, based in Cologne and active internationally. Her chamber music collaborations span a diverse range of artists and styles, including pianist Sophie Pacini, percussionist Martin Grubinger (with whom she performs as part of the ensemble "Strings & Percussion"), composer-pianist Fazıl Say, and soprano Barbara Bonney. Gundula's chamber performances have been featured at major venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Vienna's Musikverein, La Scala in Milan, Berlin Philharmonie, and the Cologne Philharmonie.

She has appeared at leading international festivals including the Edinburgh Festival, the Gmunden Festival Weeks, Salzburg Mozart Week, and the Salzburg Festival, performing under the batons of renowned conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Valery Gergiev, Gustavo Dudamel, Alain Altinoglu, Daniel Barenboim, Franz Welser-Möst, and Sir Antonio Pappano.

Gundula's experience as a soloist, chamber partner, and principal cellist is complemented by her dedication to mentorship and education. While based in London, she was a mentor in the Royal Opera House's Overture Mentorship programme—an initiative developed in partnership with Black Lives Matter to support greater diversity and inclusion in classical music. In 2024, she served as a guest lecturer at the Haliaeti Masterclasses, in collaboration with the Zurich University of the Arts, held in Izola, Slovenia. Her holistic view of music—as art, craft, and human connection—continues to shape her performances and her work with the next generation of musicians.

(Photo by Karl Heinz Krauskopf)