Progressions Director James Przygocki is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Wyoming. In 2026 he returned to MYSO after a long absence. Jim was a director of MYSO’s String Orchestra in the 1990s when he left to accept a position as Professor of Viola and String Education at the University of Wyoming where he taught for 30 years. While at Wyoming Jim taught studio viola and violin at the graduate and undergraduate levels, conducted the University of Wyoming Chamber Orchestra, and taught classes in string pedagogy and music education.

Throughout his career Jim has worked with pre-college students from the youngest beginners to advanced students. With his wife Sherry Sinift, he helped to establish the String Academy of Wyoming, and 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 Wyoming for more than 20 years.

Along with his teaching, Jim has maintained a busy performing life as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player. His experience includes performances in the U.S. and internationally. Jim’s interest in string pedagogy has resulted in numerous publications, workshops, masterclasses and residencies.

Currently, Jim also teaches for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee String Academy. During his earlier years in Milwaukee, Jim also taught at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and performed with the Skylight Opera, the Milwaukee Symphony, the Bel Canto Chorus, the Fox Valley Symphony and others. Jim holds a B.M.Ed. from Western Michigan University where he studied with Gerald Fischbach and a M.M. from Indiana University where he studied with Mimi Zweig. He has continued to return to I.U. in the summer for many years, teaching at the Jacobs School of Music Summer String Academy and Summer Retreat for Professional Violinists and Violists.

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Progressions