About Karen Howell
Karen Howell is a violin, viola, piano, and voice instructor and has taught students of all ages for more than fifteen years. Karen grew up in the Northern Virginia area and started learning music at age six on the piano, adding viola and violin a few years later. During high school she was a musician in the American Youth Philharmonic orchestras and studied under National Symphony Orchestra violist Ramon Scavelli.
After graduating high school, Karen earned a Bachelor's degree in Viola Performance from New England Conservatory of Music where she studied with Carol Rodland, who is currently on faculty at the Juilliard School. During her time at NEC in Boston, Karen was able to further develop her teaching skills, as well as her piano skills, and she performed in a number of orchestras and chamber ensembles both at the school and in the Boston area. After graduating from the conservatory, she moved to California and earned her Master's degree at San Diego State University. While in San Diego, Karen taught private lessons on violin, viola, and piano, performed in string quartets, orchestras, and church ensembles, arranged music, and worked as a piano accompanist. She then moved back to the DC area, where she was an active instructor while freelancing as a chamber musician.
From 2015 to early 2018, Karen lived in Japan where she opened "Karen's Music Studio" on the Yokosuka Military base. While overseas, she performed in Japan and India, taught at Master Class at an International School in Mumbai, and explored Singapore. These experiences gave Karen a deeper understanding of the world, cultures, and music.
