Arts at Noon presents international musical tour

The 38th season of the Arts at Noon concert series continues February 24 when oboist Marlen Vavríková and pianist Sheryl Iott present a musical tour of Germany, Italy, France, England, the U.S. and the Czech Republic.

Currently an associate professor of oboe at Grand Valley and member of the faculty wind quintet Grand Valley Winds, Vavríková began her musical journey in the Czech Republic at the Janáek Conservatory of Music in Ostrava. In 1996 she moved to the U.S. to study at Eastman School of Music, where she received her master’s degree in music in 1998, and the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, where she earned her doctorate in musical arts in 2004. Vavríková has performed with ensembles in Europe, Japan and the U.S., and has appeared as a soloist with orchestras in Ostrava, St. Louis, Champaign-Urbana, Allendale and Grand Rapids. An active researcher, Vavríková has published articles about contemporary Czech oboe music in International Double Reed Society journals and performed recitals at the society's various conferences. 

Iott is a frequent solo and collaborative performer, speaker and adjudicator who currently serves on the piano faculty of the Interlochen Arts Camp and Grand Rapids Community College. She also serves as music director at Bethlehem Lutheran Church. Iott is currently working on a series of recitals and a CD with the Aries Trio, after performing on a tour of the British Isles with Big Rapids-based women’s choir Voca Lyrica. Iott collaborates in performance frequently with many members of the Grand Rapids Symphony and Grand Valley faculty. She also maintains a piano studio in her home in Grand Rapids, and has published multiple works in the piano pedagogy and music education fields.

All Arts at Noon concerts are free, open to the public, begin at noon, last approximately one hour and take place in the Cook-DeWitt Center on the Allendale Campus.

For more information about the Arts at Noon concert series, call the Music and Dance Department at (616) 331-3484 or visit the Arts at Noon website.