Sara Watanabe
Japan, 21
A scholarship student at Tokyo College of Music since 2023, Sara Watanabe has quickly built a strong international reputation as an accomplished young violinist. In 2022, she won First Prize at the Music Competition of Japan, and in 2026 she earned the Second Prize and Mozart Prize at the Montreal International Competition. As a soloist, she has performed with the Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra in concerts across Japan and abroad.
Teachers:
Kyoko Takezawa 2026 – present
Koichiro Harada 2020 – present
Machie Oguri 2018 – present
Preliminaries
Sonata in A major, K. 305 — W. A. Mozart
Sonata No. 5 in G major — E. Ysaÿe
Paganiniana Variations — N. Milstein
Romance, Op. 23 — A. Beach
Semi-Finals
Sonata No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 12 — L. van Beethoven
Divertimento — I. Stravinsky
Rhapsody No. 3 for Solo Violin — Jessie Montgomery
Carmen Fantasy (after Bizet) — F. Waxman
Classical Finals
Violin Concerto No. 1 in B-flat major, K. 207 — W. A. Mozart
La Gitana — F. Kreisler (orch. J. Kuusisto)
Finals
Violin Concerto No. 2, Sz. 112 — B. Bartók
