March Program
Sheryl Iott: Thinking and Playing: Practice Better, Learn Faster, Perform More Effectively
Topic Description
Cognitively sound practice strategies to make the most of your student’s practice sessions, leading to more efficient learning, more security at the instrument, and more musical performance.
Speaker Biography
Sheryl Iott is an active solo and collaborative performer, speaker, and adjudicator. She recently spent a semester on a Fulbright Scholarship, teaching piano pedagogy and coaching collaborative piano/chamber music at the University of Brasilia in Brasilia, Brazil. While there she performed with numerous UnB faculty, featuring music of myriad South American composers. She has also performed in Italy and throughout the U.K. as well as in many cities in the U.S. She has studied with Ralph and Albertine Votapek, Ian Hobson, and Joseph Evans, with additional coachings from Lydia Artimiw, Ward Davenny, and Richard Sim.
Dr. Iott is on the faculty of Interlochen Arts Camp, and has served on the faculties of Grand Rapids Community College, Hope College, Michigan State University, and Calvin College. Various appointments have included teaching piano, piano pedagogy, keyboard skills, music appreciation, and duties as staff accompanist. She is also a member of the College of Examiners for the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto, for which she also works as an online certification facilitator and as a Subject Matter Expert for their pedagogy programs.
Frequently published in music education and piano pedagogy books and magazines, Dr. Iott’s current research is focusing on music cognition and cognition-enhanced practice strategies. She is currently writing a book on the topic, and has conducted workshops on effective practice strategies at Interlochen as well as for teacher groups and in “un” master classes. She most recently performed the Triple Concerto by Beethoven with KPO and Libor Ondras, violin, and Alecia Gregorian Sawyers, cello, and conducting workshops [remotely] for the California State University – Northridge Piano Pedagogy program.
