CHAS WETHERBEE

Violinist Charles Wetherbee has performed throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Canada, Mexico, and the United States. A native of Buffalo, New York, Charles gave his first performances at age six. He made his debut with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra under Symon Bychkov, and since then has performed with the National Symphony under Mstislav Rostropovitch, as well as the Japan Philharmonic, the Kyoto Symphony, the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Bogota (Columbia), the National Repertory Orchestra, the Orchestra Nacional de Mexico, the Symphony Orchestra of the Curtis Institute, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Long Beach Symphony, and the Virginia Symphony, among others. The Washington Post called Wetherbee "a consummate artist...with flawless technique". The Virginia Pilot said that he "...gave a performance of great conviction and emotion". The Columbus Dispatch wrote "...a first rate showman...his double-stops, harmonics, and beautiful sound kept the audience spellbound".

Charles is an artist dedicated to the music of today, as well as to the great literature of the past. He gave the Russian premiere of Grammy Award winning composer John Corigliano's Violin Concerto, and was subsequently invited back to perform the Beethoven concerto in the famous Shostakovich Philharmonic Hall. He also gave the Mid-West premiere of the Penderski Violin Concerto in Columbus, Ohio, with the composer conducting. Charles has been heard throughout the US on the NPR program "Performance Today", featuring his performance of the Red Violin by Mr. Corigliano with Joanne Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. Other premieres include: the Leshnoff Violin Concerto with the Columbus Symphony, the Leshnoff Double Concerto for Violin and Viola with Michael Stern and the IRIS Chamber Orchestra, and the Story Teller Concerto by Korine Fujiwara in, Washington, DC, as part of the 100th Anniversary of the Cherry Blossom Festival.

A devoted chamber musician, Charles is the first violinist of the Carpe Diem String Quartet, with whom he tours and performs regularly. Charles is an assistant professor of violin at the College of Music - University of Colorado at Boulder. As a recording artist, he is represented on Naxos, Seize the Music Records, Weasel Records, Vienna

Modern Classics, as well as the Cascade labels. Mr. Wetherbee has been the recipient of numerous honors, including the Ashworth Artist and the George Hardesty awards. In 2002 Charles was able to acquire one of the world's great violins, the Widenhouse 44.