Rie Watanabe

Rie Watanabe (b. 1979) is a Japanese-German percussionist from Hokkaido, who currently lives in Cologne and Karlsruhe. In 1999, Watanabe began her percussion studies with Makoto Aruga, Michiko Takahashi, Takafumi Fujimoto and Mariko Okada at the Tokyo National University Of Fine Arts And Music. She attended Tokyo National University Of Fine Arts And Music between 2005 and 2011, taking lessons from Isao Nakamura.

As a guest soloist, Rie Watanabe has been playing with MusikFabrik, Klangforum Wien, Ensemble 2x2 and a few other European ensembles and orchestras. In 2011, she premiered Mauricio Kagel's Concert Piece for Timpani and Orchestra with Stuttgarter Philharmoniker. Watanabe formed a percussion/electronic duo Rhyngo with Shingo Inao in 2006.