Sari De Leon-Reist performs regularly with some of Nashville’s finest musicians and ensembles on stage and in the recording studio. She is Principal cellist of the Nashville Opera Orchestra, and is a regular substitute for the Nashville Symphony. She was Artistic Director of the Grammy-nominated Alias Chamber Ensemble from 2018-2022. In the popular realm, she can be heard on the recordings of Lady A, Kings of Leon, Ben Folds, Train, Dan and Shay, Chris Stapleton, Carrie Underwood and countless others.
Sari received her Bachelor of Music degree in cello performance from San Francisco Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Irene Sharp. As an educator, she was formerly on the faculty of Mannes College of Music, School for Strings NY, and The Children’s Orchestra Society of New York, as well as the Governors School of the Arts in TN, Lipscomb University, and Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt. In 2018, she was a guest artist in the First National Youth Cello Festival in Ningbo, China. She currently teaches in her home studio in East Nashville, where her African Grey parrot oftensings along with her students.