Charles Wetherbee

Violinist Charles Wetherbee has performed at concert halls and festivals around the world. He has championed the works of several contemporary composers, including Jonathan Leshnoff and John Corigliano. Wetherbee was born in Buffalo, New York, and gave his first recital at age six. He attended the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, studying with Aaron Rosand, and made his debut with his hometown Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor Semyon Bychkov. In 1994, Wetherbee became the concertmaster of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra in Ohio, but he maintained his touring career and appeared with several prestigious ensembles, including the National Symphony in Washington (with Mstislav Rostropovich conducting) and the Japan Philharmonic. He gave the Russian premiere of Corigliano's Violin Concerto, and he has performed that composer's The Red Violin across Latin America, giving its regional premiere. He has also premiered the Violin Concerto and Concerto for violin and viola of Leshnoff, performing the former work widely, and at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, he played the world premiere of Korine Fujiwara's Violin Concerto. Wetherbee made an Asian tour in 1988, appearing during that tour at the Olympic Arts Festival in Seoul, South Korea. Two years later, he performed for American troops in the Middle East during the Gulf War. In the U.S., he is notable for a wide variety of festival appearances, including those at the Aspen Music Festival, the Olympic Music Festival in Washington state, and Strings in the Mountains in Colorado. He has also performed at the Nouvelle Academie International d'Été festival in Nice, France. A committed chamber music player, Wetherbee is the first violinist of the Carpe Diem String Quartet. With that group, he has performed with folk guitarist Willy Porter in the crossover chamber group the mealies. Wetherbee's recording catalog has focused on the Naxos label and includes both albums with the Carpe Diem String Quartet and solo efforts. In 2019, with pianist David Korevaar, he recorded the three violin sonatas of composer Paul Juon for Naxos. Wetherbee is on the music faculty at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
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