Rio Watanabe is an award-winning pianist, and the founder of Eden Piano Academy, with over 2,700 students across the globe. 

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Rio holds a Master's degree in piano performance from Utrecht Conservatory (Netherlands) where she studied under the renowned Dutch pianist, Martyn van den Hoek. She holds her Bachelor's degree in piano performance from Prince Claus Conservatory (NL), where she studied with Tamara Poddubnaya and Paul Komen. She also holds a Dutch certification in Music Education, and has over 10 years of teaching experience.

She is a Sara James Scholar graduate from the top-tier American university, Bowdoin College, and holds a Bachelor's degree in the biological sciences (Pre-Medical sciences) with a focus on neuroscience and psychology. 
 
Rio 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 the 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. She has performed at festivals such as the Portland International Piano Festival in the USA, the "Muziek aan de Waal" Festival, and "Peter de Groot" Festival in the Netherlands. She has also performed in master classes for renowned pianists including Vladimir Tropp, Igor Roma, Endre Hegedus, Martin Helmchen, Illona Timchenko.

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Rio is Japanese by origin, and immigrated to the USA at a young age. She currently resides in the charming town of Bilthoven in the Netherlands with her husband and son.