Vilem Sokol (May 22, 1915August 19, 2011) was a Czech-American conductor and professor of music at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

from 1948 to 1985, where he taught violin, viola, conducting, as well as music appreciation classes directed primarily toward non-music majors. He was conductor of the

Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras (SYSO) is the largest youth symphony organization and youth orchestra training program in the United States, as well as the eighth oldest. Programs SYSO-in-the-Schools supports public school instrumental music pr ...

from 1960 to 1988, and principal violist of the

Seattle Symphony The Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall. The orchestra also serves as the accompanying orchestra for the Seattle Opera. History Beginnings The orchestr ...

from 1959 to 1963. He was the featured soloist with the Seattle Symphony for subscription concerts held March 7 and 8, 1960, performing ''Harold in Italy'' by Hector Berlioz. Sokol was raised in

Ambridge, Pennsylvania Ambridge is a borough in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. Incorporated in 1905 as a company town by the American Bridge Company, Ambridge is located 16 miles (25 km) northwest of Pittsburgh, along the Ohio River. The population wa ...

. At the age of 16, he studied with

Otakar Ševčík Otakar Ševčík (22 March 185218 January 1934) was a Czech violinist and influential teacher. He was known as a soloist and an ensemble player, including his occasional performances with Eugène Ysaÿe. Biography Ševčík was born in Horaž ...

in Boston. He received a bachelor's degree in music from Oberlin College in 1938, where he studied violin with Raymond Cerf, and studied for one year on scholarship with Jaroslav Kocián at the State Conservatory of Music in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

. He studied under a fellowship grant at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

in New York City. Upon his return from Prague, he taught at Shorter College in Rome, Georgia for two years. He returned in 1941 to Oberlin College to pursue graduate work, but was drafted when the United States entered the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. He served in Miami Beach, Florida,

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

and

Biloxi, Mississippi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...

. Following his discharge in 1945, he returned to Oberlin College to continue his graduate work. Before coming to Seattle, he taught at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

(1946–7), and the Kansas City Conservatory of Music (1947–8), which has been part of the

University of Missouri–Kansas City The University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC) is a public research university in Kansas City, Missouri. UMKC is part of the University of Missouri System and one of only two member universities with a medical school. As of 2020, the university ...

since 1959. Sokol was one of the first American teachers to meet Shinichi Suzuki and apply aspects of his teaching method. On August 19, 2011, Sokol died, aged 96, in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

from cancer.

Films

*1974 – ''1812 Overture'' filmed at Pacific Northwest Music Camp at Fort Flagler State Park. *1984 – ''Alan Hovhaness''. Directed by

Jean Walkinshaw Jean Walkinshaw is an American television producer. She has produced content for The History Channel, KING-TV, and KCTS. In 2019 Walkinshaw was inducted into the Northwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Gold Cir ...

, KCTS-TV, Seattle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sokol, Vilem 1915 births 2011 deaths American people of Czech descent American conductors (music) American male conductors (music) Deaths from cancer in Washington (state) American music educators University of Washington faculty Musicians from Seattle Juilliard School alumni Place of birth missing