Charles Wetherbee, violin

Violinist CHARLES WETHERBEE has performed throughout the world as a soloist and chamber musician, including Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Canada, Mexico, and the United States. In the US, he has appeared at the Aspen Music Festival, the Garth Newell Center, the Hidden Valley Festival, the Roycroft Chamber Festival, the Nouvelle Academie International d’Été (Nice, France), and at Strings in the Mountains in Steamboat, CO. Charles has been the Concertmaster of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra following his appointment in 1994. He has appeared numerous times as soloist with the orchestra, earning high praise both from audiences and critics. After a recent performance with the Columbus Symphony, The Columbus Dispatch wrote “...Wetherbee has turned into a first rate showman...his doublestops, harmonics, and beautiful sound kept the audience spellbound”.

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 Alexandria Symphony, the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia, the Minnesota Synphonia, the National Repertory Orchestra, the Orchestra Nacional de Mexico, and the Symphony Orchestra of the Curtis Institute. In 1988 he toured the Far East with the National Repertory Orchestra as concertmaster and soloist, including performances in Seoul, Korea as part of the Olympic Arts Festival. In 1990 he traveled to the Middle East to perform for the men and women of the armed services. The Washington Post called Wetherbee “a consumate artist...with flawless technique”. The Virginia Pilot said that he “...gave a performance of great conviction and emotion”. Recently, Mr. Wetherbee was awarded the 2005-2006 Ashworth Artist award.

A devoted chamber musician, Charles is the first violinist of the Carpe Diem String Quartet. He is also the Artistic Director of The Marble Cliff Chamber Players, a music festival based in Columbus that takes place every June. He is founding member of Opus 3 piano trio, and with Opus 3 has performed in the French, German, Austrian and Dutch embassies, as well as the Terrace Theater of the Kennedy Center, the National Gallery, the Corcoran Gallery, Strathmore Hall, and throughout the East Coast.

He made his New York debut in 1988 at Carnegie Hall to critical acclaim as a participant in the American Music Competition. He is also the artistic director of the Snake River Chamber Players, which performs every August in Keystone, CO.

In November of 2005, Charles gave the world premier of the Violin Concerto by composer Jonathan Leshnoff with The Columbus Symphony, and subsequently performed the concerto in Baltimore, MD with the Baltimore Chamber orchestra. After this performance, The Baltimore Sun wrote “This was very classy fiddle playing, with a golden, penetrating tone, sterling technique and strongly communicative phrasing.” Mr. Wetherbee will be performing the Leshnoff concerto in Buffalo, NY, Mexico City, Mexico, with the Orchestra Nacional de Mexico, and Colorado, among other places. Charles has been heard nationwide on the NPR program “Performance Today”, featuring his performance of the Red Violin by John Corigliano with Joanne Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2002, he gave the Mexican premier of the Red Violin, and was immediately re-engaged to return in 2003 for performances of the Szymanowski Violin Concerto. He has also been heard recently throughout the Northwest United States on public radio as a performer in The Olympic Music Festival.

Charles is married to Karina Wetherbee, and they have three children: Tristan, Sebastian, and Tessa. Karina just published her first book, The Minefield of Memories, and is at work on her second. She is also a talented photographer, specializing in nature and portraits. Charles is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Aaron Rosand. He can be heard on the Vienna Modern Classics label, as well as on the Cascade label, and was recently featured on a recording with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra playing Massenet’s Meditation from Thais. Charles plays on a violin by Kurt Widenhouse. For more information about Mr. Wetherbee, see his web site, www.chaswetherbee.com.

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