Jaani Helander is a Helsinki-based cellist and composer. He is a member of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and teaches cello at the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki and at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. He is also the founder and artistic director of the Helsinki Chamber Music Festival. Together with violinist Kreeta-Julia Heikkilä and pianist Jaan Ots, Helander performs in the TEOS Piano Trio. He also regularly performs in a piano trio with violinist Linda Lampenius and pianist Laura Mikkola.

Cellomania is a cello duo formed by Helander and Lukas Stasevskij. In addition to Helander’s own compositions, they perform pop and rock covers as well as music from games and films. Cellomania has performed widely across Finland, released one album and three singles, and their music has been streamed over 330,000 times on digital platforms. In spring 2026, the duo made their international debut with a sold-out concert at Jaan Church in Tartu, Estonia. That same spring, they also performed a full-length concert at Kuusankoskitalo and appeared at a concert dinner at Restaurant Muru in Helsinki.

Helander began composing during the spring 2020 lockdown, when the pandemic cleared his concert calendar and gave him time to focus on creative ideas. He is entirely self-taught as a composer. His catalogue includes 15 works, and his music has been performed not only in Finland but also in the United States, Spain, Germany, and Poland. During the 2025–2026 season, his string quintet Inner Life, Op. 2, will be premiered in Mexico, Germany, and Switzerland. The Monaco-based Trio Goldberg will premiere his commissioned string trio Quatre sensations, Op. 11 in Monaco in June 2026.

Helander studied cello at the Sibelius Academy under Martti Rousi and has furthered his studies in Germany with Christoph Richter and in Italy with Natalia Gutman.