Charletta Tanner, violin and viola
Charletta Tanner began her musical studies at the age of three. A stubborn toddler who wanted to only play the viola, a daring teacher made her dreams come true when she restrung a fractional-sized violin and handed it to Charletta to play. Upon moving to Stockton, CA in high school, Mrs. Tanner was privileged to meet and study with Dr. Thomas Tatton. It was under his loving guidance that she blossomed as a performer, took an interest in pursuing musical studies, and began to cultivate a passion for music instruction.
Mrs. Tanner received her Bachelor of Music from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, where she studied viola with Peter Slowik and performed with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. She was awarded a Master of Music from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA with Michelle LaCourse. Mrs. Tanner also completed doctoral coursework at the University of Iowa where she studied with Christine Rutledge and performed with the internationally-recognized Center for New Music. While there, she won the Peltzer Fellowship
Award and was also awarded a Graduate Fellowship. Boasting a variety of performance experiences in solo, chamber, and orchestral settings, Mrs. Tanner has been a member of orchestras, chamber ensembles, and festivals throughout the Midwest and Arizona. Her masterclass performances and coachings include work with the Alexander String Quartet, Jeffrey Irvine, Donald McInnes, Pamela Ryan, the Vermeer Quartet, and Richard Young. Mrs. Tanner won first prize in the American Viola Society’s research competition for The Real Thing, an academic paper on the Walton Viola Concerto.
Mrs. Tanner began teaching and coaching at the age of sixteen as an assistant to a local youth orchestra. She now has almost three decades of teaching experience with students of all ages and performance levels in individual and group settings, masterclasses, chamber group coachings, sectionals, and classroom instruction. She was honored to serve for eight years as a private and group instructor at Rosie’s House, a music academy for underprivileged youth in Phoenix, AZ. It was there that she experienced the power of music study to change lives,improve academics, and provide students with an expressive outlet.
Mrs. Tanner received her Bachelor of Music from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, where she studied viola with Peter Slowik and performed with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. She was awarded a Master of Music from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA with Michelle LaCourse. Mrs. Tanner also completed doctoral coursework at the University of Iowa where she studied with Christine Rutledge and performed with the internationally-recognized Center for New Music. While there, she won the Peltzer Fellowship
Award and was also awarded a Graduate Fellowship. Boasting a variety of performance experiences in solo, chamber, and orchestral settings, Mrs. Tanner has been a member of orchestras, chamber ensembles, and festivals throughout the Midwest and Arizona. Her masterclass performances and coachings include work with the Alexander String Quartet, Jeffrey Irvine, Donald McInnes, Pamela Ryan, the Vermeer Quartet, and Richard Young. Mrs. Tanner won first prize in the American Viola Society’s research competition for The Real Thing, an academic paper on the Walton Viola Concerto.
Mrs. Tanner began teaching and coaching at the age of sixteen as an assistant to a local youth orchestra. She now has almost three decades of teaching experience with students of all ages and performance levels in individual and group settings, masterclasses, chamber group coachings, sectionals, and classroom instruction. She was honored to serve for eight years as a private and group instructor at Rosie’s House, a music academy for underprivileged youth in Phoenix, AZ. It was there that she experienced the power of music study to change lives,improve academics, and provide students with an expressive outlet.