Rio Watanabe-van Dorth holds a Master’s degree in classical piano performance from the Utrecht Conservatory in the Netherlands, where she studied under the renowned Dutch pianist, Martyn van den Hoek. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in classical piano performance from Prince Claus Conservatory in the Netherlands. She is a Sara James Scholar and graduate from Bowdoin College {USA}, and also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences (Pre-Med) with a focus on neuroscience and psychology.
She has been featured on TBS Japanese National Television, and has been a guest soloist at the Langham Place, London, as well as the Vredenburg Concert hall in Utrecht, the Netherlands. She is the first prize winner at the Dobrich-Albena Piano Competition in Bulgaria, and was selected as a finalist at the Crescendo Summer Festival gala concert competition in Hungary. She is also the first prize winner of the Klaas Dijkstra Foundation Entrepreneurship Award in music education, and has also performed at festivals such as the Portland International Piano Festival in the USA, and the "Muziek aan de Waal" Festival in the Netherlands.
She is a passionate keyboardist, and has performed in worship music projects such as Not About Me and Brave.
Rio is Japanese by origin, and immigrated to the USA at a young age. She is married to a wonderful Dutchman and currently resides in the beautiful city of Utrecht, the Netherlands.
