Sheryl Tjon loves the piano and music! Ms. Tjon has been playing the piano for four decades. Her musical experience began with the viola in the fourth grade. When her dad retired from the military, her family moved to a small town in northwest Minnesota that didn’t have a string teacher. She switched to the alto saxophone, but became intrigued with the piano after hearing a classmate play. After teaching herself to play simple pieces, she started studying with a local piano teacher and accelerated quickly. Throughout high school she was the primary accompanist for the choir, small vocal ensembles, district contests, and special events. She was selected as an accompanist for the district honor choir. She won solo and music theory awards in the MMTA (Minnesota) at the district and state levels.

She received a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Minnesota State University, Moorhead. She studied piano in Sweden with Benedicte Haid prior to attending the State University of New York (SUNY), Stony Brook on the National Student Exchange Program. Throughout college, she focused on her passion of collaborative piano, accompanying vocalists, instrumentalists, opera workshop, and the MSU-Moorhead festival choir. She has been active on worship teams in her local church, both nationally and internationally.

Ms. Tjon’s first piano teacher helped launch her pedagogy career while in high school. Her piano studio has moved with her, which includes past studios in Mannheim, Germany; Norfolk, Virginia; Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; and currently in Jacksonville, NC.

Past piano teachers include Dianne Thompson, Dr. Nancy Harris, Benedicte Haid, Dr. Sing-Sin Chwin, Dr. Terri Manno, and Dr. Peter Collins. For the past seven years, she continued studying piano repetoire and pedagogy with the late Suzanne W. Guy.

Ms. Tjon’s professional affiliations include serving as Secretary on the Executive Board of the North Carolina Music Teachers Association (NCMTA). She is a member of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), and the MTNA local affiliate Cape Fear Music Teachers Association (CFMTA). 

Ms. Tjon also earned a Master of Arts in Theological Studies (2003) and Master of Divinity (2010) degrees from Assemblies of God Theological Seminary in Springfield, Missouri. She is an ordained minister with the Assemblies of God. Ms. Tjon values professional development and continuing education, and is in the process of completing the National Certified Teacher of Music (NCTM) certification through MTNA.  

In addition to her private piano studio in Jacksonville, NC, Ms. Tjon is the organist, pianist, and choir director at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in Jacksonville. She is the collaborative pianist for the Wilmington Choral Society. She continues to collaborate regularly with local high school choirs, vocalists, instrumentalists, & ensembles, performs at special events, and adjudicates for piano festivals and competitions. 

When she isn’t teaching or playing the piano, she enjoys spending time with her family, Lily–their lovable & charismatic Puggle, reading, running, traveling, playing Trivia Crack, admiring the beautiful sunsets of eastern North Carolina, feeling sand in her toes from the local beaches, and watching Duke basketball. She resides in Jacksonville, North Carolina.

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