Karen Tuttle (March 28, 1920 – December 16, 2010) was an American violist and pedagogue, well known for her teaching system that she called coordination.
Born Katherine Ann Tuttle in Lewiston, Idaho, she changed her name to Karen as a young woman.
She studied with Jean Heers, Karel Havlíček, and Henri Temianka, and actively toured the West Coast as a teen.
[3] In 1941, Tuttle heard violist William Primrose play in Los Angeles with the London String Quartet.
[4] Primrose often sent students with technical problems to Tuttle for help, because she could better articulate what they needed to create beautiful sound.
"[6] Tuttle also performed and recorded with the Galimir, Gotham, and Schneider Quartets, which was revolutionary for a woman at the time.
Her technique focuses on coordinating a musician's physical and emotional awareness to create a beautiful sound.
[3] The Karen Tuttle Coordination Workshop occurs annually for violists interested in exploring her technique.
[4] Several of her students now teach at prominent universities and music conservatories: Christine Rutledge, Sheila Browne, Caroline Coade, Susan Dubois, Edward Gazouleas, Jeffrey Irvine, Kim Kashkashian, Michelle LaCourse, Katherine Murdock, Ashan Pillai, Lawrence Power, Lynne Ramsey, André Roy, Karen Ritscher, Carol Rodland, Kate Hamilton, Masumi Per Rostad, Jennifer Stumm, and Stephen Wyrczynski.