KENSHO WATANABE’s contract as assistant conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra has been extended through the 2018-19 season. Since joining the orchestra as assistant conductor in 2016, Watanabe has participated in residency, touring, and educational activities, including leading the Orchestra’s first-ever sensory-friendly concert. Watanabe, a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, made his subscription debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra in April 2017, stepping in for an indisposed Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Watanabe was the inaugural conducting fellow at the Curtis Institute of Music from 2013 to 2015, under the mentorship of Nézet-Séguin. Watanabe has led numerous operas with the Curtis Opera Theatre, and his future performances include re-engagements with the Orchestre Métropolitain, San Diego Symphony, and Alabama Symphony. Watanabe received his master of music degree from the Yale School of Music and was a substitute violinist in the Philadelphia Orchestra from 2012 to 2016. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Yale College, where he studied biology. He has served on the staff of the Greenwood Music Camp in Massachusetts since 2007.
Posted January 30, 2018
