Jeffrey Watson grew up in Tucson, AZ. He received a Bachelor of Music degree at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, CT and a Masters degree from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Some of his teachers have included Raya Garbousova, David Finckel, Gabor Rejto, and Eleanor Schoenfeld. After leaving school, Jeff spent 3 years with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area. Jeff joined the San Francisco-based New Century Chamber Orchestra (a conductorless 17 member string ensemble) in 1995 and appeared with the NCCO as chamber musician, principal and section cellist, and as soloist. The NCCO recorded 4 CD’s; one of which, an all Shostokovich CD, was nominated for a Grammy award in 2000. Some of the artists Mr. Watson has collaborated with include Charles Neidich, Terry Riley, Simon Rattle, Frederica von Stade, and Jeffrey Kahane.
Some of Mr. Watson’s other musical experiences include performing in the Berlin 750th Anniversary festival (Berlin, Germany) with the Suliam string quartet, performing at the San Francisco Jazz Festival with Charlie Haden and Shirley Horn, tours of Japan with the Percy Faith and Henry Mancini orchestras, performance in Hong Kong with the Hong Kong String Quartet, motion picture soundtrack sessions for films such as Spy Kids and Inspector Gadget, and playing for Broadway shows. Mr. Watson has also developed and performed musical education programs for the NCCO and the San Francisco Symphony, including the “Adventures in Music” program for the San Francisco Public Schools. Mr. Watson re-located to the Denver area in spring 2006. He has performed with the CCP since 2007.
