A transplant from New Jersey, Leena recently joined the Opera Colorado orchestra and has played with the Grand Tetons Music Festival for the past 2 seasons. She substitutes regularly with the Colorado Symphony, Colorado Ballet, Boulder Philharmonic, and the Colorado Music Festival. She has performed with Front Range Chamber Players, Highlands Ranch Mansion Chamber Series and on Friends of Chamber Music museum and school concerts. Along with vocalist Kali Pagurigan, she is the co-founder of ReSound, a Denver based voice and string quartet project presenting music in a variety of genres from mostly 20th century to present day composers. She plays frequently at Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church – where her husband Adam Waite serves as the Minister of Music – both as a soloist and in ensembles and alongside the Westminster choir. She has appeared repeatedly with the Boulder Chorale, Denver Choir League, Elus Vocal Ensemble, and the Ghost Ranch Chorale. You can hear her occasionally at local jazz clubs, performing with her husband or their group, Full SAIL. Outside of music, you can most likely find her skiing, camping or cheering on the Buffalo Bills with her family, which includes their curious and humorous middle schooler.
Leena received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Violin Performance (with a jazz minor) from Carnegie Mellon University and Masters of Music and Masters in Improvisation from the University of Michigan.