James Przygocki

James Przygocki is Professor Emeritus of Music at the University of Wyoming, having retired from his tenured faculty position in December 2022 after a long and productive career. He continues to be active as a teacher, performer, clinician and adjudicator.

While on the UW faculty, Professor Przygocki taught viola and violin at the undergraduate  and graduate levels. Along with his studio teaching, Prof. Przygocki also taught courses in music education, string education and violin and viola pedagogy and conducted the UW Chamber Orchestra.

Throughout his career, Prof. Przygocki also has taught pre-college students from the youngest beginners to advanced students preparing for a career in the profession. With his wife Sherry Sinift, he helped to establish the String Academy of Wyoming, a Suzuki-style program for students from age 4 through high school. In 2000 they received a grant from the American String Teachers Association to establish the University of Wyoming String Project, a teacher-training and pre-college program that flourished at UW for more than 20 years. This program, recognized by ASTA with an award for excellence, grew to an enrollment of over 130 students and more than 100 UW students received training and experience through their work with this program.

In addition to his work at UW, Prof. Przygocki has taught at String Academy of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, the Indiana University Summer String Academy and the IU Retreat for Professional Violinists and various summer music camps and festivals.

As a conductor, Prof. Przygocki has directed the Lake Michigan Youth Orchestra in St. Joseph and Benton Harbor, Michigan, the Milwaukee Youth Symphony and directed orchestras at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and the String Academy of Wisconsin. He continues to be a frequent guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator, directing orchestras and working with students at every level.

Throughout his career, Prof. Przygocki has maintained a busy performing life as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player. His experience includes performances in Europe, China, Brazil, Canada and around the U.S. and at numerous festivals. Solo appearances have included performances with the Goias (Brazil) Philharmonic, the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra, the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra and the University of Wyoming Symphony and Chamber Orchestras. He has served as principal viola for the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra for three decades.

His recordings include a CD of music by Louise Talma on the CRI label, and his recording of Camargo Guarnieri's Viola Sonata is on a CD that accompanies Guarnieri's biography, published by Indiana University Press. His recording with the Summit Chamber Players of the music of Felix Draeseke and Arnold Krug entitled Homage to Stelzner is on the AK/Coburg label. 

Much of Prof. Przygocki's work is inspired by his interest in string pedagogy. This has resulted in numerous articles, publications, residencies, workshops and masterclasses. For many years, Prof. Przygocki has taught at the Indiana University Retreat for Professional Violinists and Violists. Other highlights have included an 8-week online artist residency for the American Viola Society and masterclasses at the national ASTA conference, Peabody Conservatory, Indiana University, the Shanghai Conservatory, the University of Brasilia, and at schools and programs around the U.S. and internationally.

Prof. Przygocki has presented at numerous conferences, including several American String Teachers Association (ASTA) national conferences. His articles have been published in American String Teacher, and he has served as editor of the Violin Forum for that publication. He has contributed to the book Teaching Music through Performance and several of his viola transcriptions have been published by One World Strings.

 An enthusiastic advocate for the viola and for string education, Jim Przygocki has held leadership positions in numerous professional organizations. He is a founding member, long-time board member and past president of the Rocky Mountain chapter of the American Viola Society and a founding board member and past president of the National String Project Consortium. He has held leadership positions with the American String Teachers Association, the National Association for Music Education, the Music Teachers National Association and the Wyoming Music Educators Association and the Wyoming chapter of ASTA. 

Prof. Przygocki’s education includes a Bachelor of Music degree in music education and violin from Western Michigan University and a Master of Music degree in viola performance from Indiana University. He has studied viola with Mimi Zweig and Jerry Horner, violin with Gerald Fischbach, chamber music with Rostislav Dubinsky and pedagogy with Mimi Zweig. He has also studied chamber music at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with the Fine Arts Quaret and at the Banff Center for the Arts.