Charles Wetherbee

A native of Buffalo, New York, Charles gave his first performances at age six. He made his début with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra under Symon Bychkov, and since then has performed with the National Symphony under Mstislav Rostropovich, as well as the Japan Philharmonic, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, the Minnesota Symphonia, the National Repertory Orchestra, the Orchestra Nacional de Mexico, the Symphony Orchestra of the Curtis Institute, the Virginia Symphony, the Kyoto Philharmonic Orchestra, the State Academic Orchestra of St Petersburg, the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, the Long Beach Symphony, and the Iris Chamber Orchestra, among others. In 1988, he toured Asia, including performances in Seoul, Korea as part of the ’88 Olympic Arts Festival. In the same year he also made his New York début at Carnegie Hall to critical acclaim. In 1990, he traveled to the Persian Gulf to perform for the men and women of the armed services. 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”.

A devoted chamber musician, Charles is a founding member of the Carpe Diem String Quartet, with whom he tours and performs regularly. Charles is on faculty at Ohio Wesleyan University. He is also the artistic director of the Snake River Chamber Players, in Keystone, Colorado. He was founding member of Opus 3 piano trio, and with Opus 3 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 eastern United States.

Charles is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Aaron Rosand. Other mentors include Sylvia Rosenberg, Karen Tuttle, and Felix Galimir. As a recording artist, he is represented on Naxos, Vienna Modern Classics, Weasel Records, Seize the Music and Cascade labels. In 2002, Charles was fortunate to acquire a violin made by Kurt Widenhouse.