Kenneth Gardner Tuttle

1952 - 2020

Kenneth Gardner Tuttle was born July 28, 1952 in Painesville, Ohio to Betty Jane Gardner and George Russell Tuttle. He passed away December 8, 2020 at his home in Highland, California. Even before graduating from Western High School in Las Vegas, Ken knew he would pursue a career in choral music, thanks to his mother filling their home with classical music. He received his Bachelor's degree in Music Education from Chapman University in Orange, CA and went on to earn his Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting Performance from the University of Nevada, Reno. Ken's legacy shines bright as a performing arts teacher for 37 years, with several years in Reno, Las Vegas, and Anaheim, until settling at Redlands High School, where he headed the Vocal Music Department for 24 years until his retirement in 2015. He was a most versatile instructor. While his specialty was conducting choral ensembles, he taught musicianship through piano and music theory classes, and introduced the joys of singing to students with special needs. He also enjoyed being the musical director in many theater productions. Singing groups under his direction toured frequently and were regularly invited to selective festivals and competitions, earning countless gold medals and first-place trophies. His musical excellence, teaching skill, and humanity were honored in 2012, when Ken was awarded the Outstanding Choral Music Educator of the Year by the California Music Educators Association. In 2016, he was named a "Hero of the Arts" by the Redlands Community Music Association. He is a Past President of the Southern California Vocal Association and hosted their Women's Festival for over 20 years. He was often sought after to be an adjudicator or guest clinician for festivals, Honor Choirs, and All-State Choirs around the Western United States. The Redlands Festival Singers, a community choir he established in 2016, was Ken's most recent passion. The past few summers, he led a Community Sing prior to select performances at the Redlands Bowl. He served several church choirs over 22 years. In his earlier career, Ken had been a soloist with the William Hall Chorale that toured Europe and Southern California. The Las Vegas Choral Society sang back-up for Barry Manilow and Paul Anka. He sang with several master chorales. The pinnacle of his choral-singing experience was performing as a bass in the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus for well over a decade. Ken was predeceased by his parents and his brother, George. He is survived by his three sweet cats, Gracie, Amber, and Jethro, and an extended family of friends, colleagues, and students who cherished him dearly and whose lives are forever enriched because of him. A Celebration of Life will be held in the coming months. May you rest in paradise, Ken, eternally directing the heavenly choir of angels. We love you.