Critically acclaimed for his ‘midas touch’ (OperaWire, 2024) Kensho Watanabe is known for his collaborative leadership and intelligently crafted performances.

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The 2025/26 season includes his debut at Houston Grand Opera with Kevin Puts’ Silent Night, Don Giovanni at Opéra de Montréal, and symphonic performances including with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Orchestre Metropolitain and his debut with the Florida Orchestra conducting Prokofiev’s 5th Symphony.

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Recent highlights include returns to the Metropolitan Opera (La bohème, Champion, The Hours), Detroit Opera (Madame Butterfly) as well as his debut at the Suntory Hall with Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. He has led world-class ensembles, such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic and Opera Theatre St Louis (Don Pasquale) as part of their 50th anniversary season.

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Other symphonic highlights include Watanabe’s debuts with the London Philharmonic, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Turku Philharmonic, Edmonton Symphony and Filarmonia Szczecin. Watanabe has also enjoyed collaborations with the Houston and Detroit Symphony Orchestras, Brussels Philharmonic, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, RTE Concert Orchestra and at the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival.

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Watanabe was the inaugural conducting fellow of the Curtis Institute of Music from 2013 to 2015, studying with his longtime mentor Yannick Nézet-Séguin. An accomplished violinist, Watanabe received his Master of Music degree from the Yale School of Music and served as substitute violinist in The Philadelphia Orchestra from 2012 to 2016.

He is also a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with distinguished conducting pedagogue Otto-Werner Mueller. Additionally, he holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Yale, where he studied molecular, cellular, and developmental biology.