Jutta Puchhammer-Sédillot was born in Vienna and studied viola at the Wiener Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst, where she graduated with honours in Siegfried Führlinger’s class. She then studied at the Eastman School of Music (Rochester) with Heidi Castleman.
Described as a violist of exceptional quality, Jutta Puchhammer-Sédillot is internationally recognized as a soloist and teacher. Jutta Puchhammer-Sédillot has been living in Canada since 1987 and is a full professor of viola and chamber music at the Faculty of Music of Université de Montréal, where she also acts as a pedagogical advisor. She frequently returns to Europe to give recitals, chamber music concerts, master classes and conferences.
In the summertime, she teaches at the Orford Music Academy, the Meadowmount Music Festival, the Heifetz International Music Institute, the Perlman Music Program, the Sarasota Music Festival, and the TTT Program in Chile, among others.
In November 2016, the double CD entitled Pièces de Concours – Virtuosic Romantic Works by French Composers (Navona NV6065) was released and brought together virtuosic and little-known romantic works for viola by French composers, rigorously studied and brilliantly performed by Jutta Puchhammer-Sédillot. At the same time, she collaborated with Les éditions Schott to publish the three volumes Les pièces de concours (ED 22234-22236), winning the 2017 Best Edition Award in Germany.
She is very active internationally and has been president of the International Viola Society (IVS) since 2020. She is a recipient of the Maurice Riley Award (2006-AVS), the Canadian Life Achievement Award (2022-CVS) as well as the Silver Viola Clef Award in 2019, the highest honour given by the International Viola Society (IVS)