But Watanabe isn't like most other teenagers--she's a classically trained violinist who's studied with virtuosos from Japan to New York to the El Camino Youth Symphony. On May 30, she and fellow high school senior Christopher Suen will finish out their childhood music careers by performing Bach's Concerto for Two Violins at the symphony's season finale.

"I don't really remember when I started playing," Watanabe says with a smile. She grew up in Japan and began taking violin and piano lessons at the age of four at the Toho Conservatory of Music. "I get tired of practicing sometimes, but it's been my life. It's just the way it is," she says.

Watanabe first came to the United States when she was in elementary school and her family relocated to New York for three years. She continued her studies there as the youngest member of the Dutchess Community College Orchestra in Poughkeepsie.

After a return to Japan, her father, an engineer, found a job that brought the family to the Washington, D.C. area three years ago. Watanabe attended Levin Music School there, and when her family then moved to Cupertino a year later, she signed on with private instructor Vitaly Leykin. Leykin recommended the youth symphony.

Between school years at Monta Vista High School, Watanabe also played in the International Music Festival in Europe.

She now practices about three hours a day, eschewing sports and other high school activities, but the time commitment has paid off--Watanabe will attend the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in the fall with the intention of majoring in Violin Performance. Despite rising to her current stature, she claims that she has many weaknesses in performance, and when asked if she still gets nervous, she emphatically replies, "Yeah!"

It may be that her partner soothes her nerves. Suen, a senior at Lynbrook High School, has studied violin with Leykin since the age of 10. He is also the Symphony concertmaster and has traveled France and Italy with the symphony's summer tours. The president of Lynbrook's National Honor Society, Suen will attend either Harvard or Stanford University this fall.

Watanabe says that with their complex schedules, the duo still needs a little time to practice their cues. But with over two decades of combined experience, the twosome is sure to sparkle onstage.

The El Camino Youth Symphony Season Finale takes place on May 30 at 2 p.m. in Spangenberg Theater at Palo Alto's Gunn High School. Tickets are $10. For information, call 650.327.2611.