Renowned Concert Violinist, Kensho Watanabe, to Perform in Larchmont

Larchmont will come alive with the sound of music on Sunday, February 8th, when distinguished violinist Kensho Watanabe returns as a guest of the Friends of the Larchmont Public Library. The concert will begin at 4:00 pm in the Social Hall at Larchmont Temple on 75 Larchmont Ave., located at the corner of Willow and Larchmont. Refreshments will be available beginning at 3:30pm, so come early, grab a seat and enjoy the concert!

A resident of Greenwich, Connecticut, Kensho Watanabe entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2010 and studies with distinguished orchestral conductor, Otto-Werner Mueller. All students at the Curtis Institute are recipients of merit-based, full-tuition scholarships, and Mr. Watanabe is the Thomas D. Watkins Fellow.

Born in Japan, Kensho Watanabe started playing the violin at the age of two studying with Hachiro Hirose. He moved to the United States in 1992 and at the age of nine was accepted into the pre-college division of the Julliard School to study with Louise Behrend and Ann Setzer. He has since received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and a Master of Music in Violin Performance from the Yale School of Music, where he studied with Syoko Aki.

As an up-and-coming conductor, Mr. Watanabe served as the assistant conductor of the Yale Symphony Orchestra from 2006 through 2009 under Toshiyuki Shimada, leading the YSO in concerts at Woolsey Hall and Battell Chapel. He has also served as the music director of Yale’s Berkeley College Orchestra from 2006 through 2009, in addition to being a staff conductor for the Greenwood Music Camp in Cummington, Mass.

Kensho Watanabe is the winner of numerous competitions and awards including the recent William Waite Concerto Competition, the Irving S. Gilmore Fellowship, and the Alumni Association Prize from the Yale School of Music. He performed in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall as one of the winners of the Japanese American Association of New York’s Young Artists’ Competition in 2006. He has also performed as a soloist with the Yale Symphony Orchestra, Berkeley College Orchestra, and the Connecticut Valley Chamber Orchestra.

An active chamber musician, Mr. Watanabe has performed on both violin and viola, most notably with violinist Ulf Hoelscher and violinist Peter Sowlik, as well as on National Public Radio’s From the Top and WQXR’s McGraw-Hill Young Artist Showcase.

The Friends of the Larchmont Public Library are interested residents who contribute to the Library in important ways. Government funding alone cannot finance all the cultural events that the community currently enjoys. The Friends of the Larchmont Public Library— an independent 501c(3) not–for–profit organization — provides the money needed for these additional programs. For more information about the organization and additional programs offered, visit the Friends of the Larchmont Public Library online at www.friendsoflarchmontlibrary.org.