About this Event
Sound Hall Studios is excited to welcome pianist, piano collaborator, and professional practice coach Erica Sipes for a two-part workshop on making practice time actually work. Whether you’re a student, a teacher, or a parent trying to help your kid get unstuck, this session gets honest about what practice struggles really look like and gives you tools to move past them.
Class Details
Practice Smarter: A Workshop with Erica Sipes
Date: Sunday, October 18, 2026
Time: 2:00–4:00 PM
Price: $25 per person (Members $22.50)
Capacity: Up to 30 participants
Price includes access to both sessions, divided by a short break.
What You’ll Experience
- Session One (2–3 PM): Workshop/Discussion on Practicing — An honest conversation about what actually gets in the way of effective practice, and how students and teachers alike can build sessions that are more efficient, more encouraging, and easier to stick with.
- Session Two (3–4 PM): Hands-On Practicing Workshop — A live coaching session with interested participants, where Erica demonstrates how to evaluate, quarantine, and solve a tricky passage quickly, painlessly, and musically.
Come for the discussion, stay for the hands-on coaching — or take in both and leave with a practice approach you can put to work right away.
Meet Your Instructor: Erica Sipes
Erica Sipes received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in piano performance from the Eastman School of Music. She currently serves as staff pianist and resident practice and performance coach at Radford University, and has freelanced as a piano collaborator across the United States.
She is a founding member and pianist of the Alma Ensemble, a Roanoke, VA-based trio dedicated to music composed by women, and co-hosts a YouTube channel with Canadian colleague Sandra Mogensen called Piano Music She Wrote, built around that same mission.
Ms. Sipes regularly appears as pianist for the Roanoke Symphony, Roanoke Symphony Choir, and Opera Roanoke, and works with practice, sightreading, and performance coaching clients around the world. She’s frequently invited to lead workshops on these exact topics — the ones closest to her heart.
Learn more at ericaannsipes.com, including her popular blog on music and practice.
Questions? We’re here to help.
Call: 804-816-2350
Monday–Friday: 3:00–9:00 PM
Saturday: 10:00 AM–6:00 PM
Sunday: 12:00–5:00 PM
Event venue & nearby stays
Sound Hall Studios, 2821 North Parham Road, Richmond, United States
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