James Zipfel is a violinist and mandolinist in Nashville, Tennessee that is experienced in teaching, touring, live performances, session recordings, and symphony performances. He is well versed in several different styles of playing violin and mandolin, namely in Country, Rock, Celtic, Classical, Bluegrass, Jazz, Worship, and Rock styles. James is also a graduate of Belmont University, having studied Commercial Music with an Emphasis in Music Business with fiddle and mandolin players such as Billy Contreras, Ryan Joseph, and Justin Branum. James has taught both from the Suzuki Method and from Essential Elements books for students of several experience types and backgrounds, and he also practices the tradition of teaching commercial styles such as fiddle, Celtic, and bluegrass styles by ear, and offers sheet music to any students wanting to learn more fiddle tunes.

Some of James’ performance credits include touring as a member of the orchestra with Josh Groban during his “Harmony” tour, opening up for Lady A, Josh Turner, Terri Clark, Sammy Kershaw, and Trace Adkins on tour with Country/Western band The Faster Horses, appearing in popular music videos for artists like Cody Fry and Tommee Profitt, performed in the Belmont University, Bowling Green, and Corinth Symphony Orchestras, and was a member of the Belmont University Jazz String Septet for four years.

James, who is originally from St. Louis, Missouri, is now a full-time resident and full-time musician of Nashville after graduating from Belmont University. He is excited to see what the future holds, and he is so excited and honored to be a Mentor with the ROOTS team!

James’ Teaching Philosophy: “I feel that one of the greatest things a teacher can do is get their students eager to play their instrument. If a student is really enthusiastic about a song they tried learning at home, I aim to help them further explore the discoveries they’ve made. If a student wants to learn about a certain technique on the instrument that they’ve seen before, I will incorporate that into our lesson materials! Overall, I believe that music is an amazing exploratory and collaborative experience, and I aim to maintain excitement and fresh concepts in our lessons while providing students with the proper techniques, foundations, and theory along the way.”

What’s been the highlight of your professional career — like your biggest spotlight moment to date?
“I feel like the biggest highlight of my career so far was when I had the pleasure of playing violin with Josh Groban on his “Harmony” Tour. The entire experience was new to me, since that was the first “gig” I had ever gotten of that level. Needless to say, I feel like I really was able to take away and learn a lot from that experience, and the added benefit of being able to play in my hometown of St. Louis for my family was an extra treat. Overall, it was a really uplifting and encouraging experience for me to further pursue my passion for and career in music.”

What type of student will excel under your mentorship?
“I always try to meet students with where they’re at! With this, students that come to me with any concerns, issues, or questions about their instrument or the music they’re playing will get the most out of our lessons!”

What does being a “Mentor” mean to you and why are you excited to step into this role?
“Being a Mentor is so important to me not only as a musician, but as a person. When I look back, all of my past music teachers instilled such a great love for music in me that I feel now it’s something I could never live without. Being a Mentor myself now, I’m excited to continue to share music with students that spark their creativity and curiosity while also having fun and being able to share their music with others!”

What type of music did you grow up listening to? How did it influence your artistry?
“I grew up listening to a lot of different styles of music growing up, but I feel that the styles that stuck most to me come from a few different worlds. I really admire the songs of Jim Croce, Prince, Adele, Fleetwood Mac, The Goo Goo Dolls, and Van Morrison, and they really helped me spur my excitement for music early on. As I pursued my violin studies, I credit the sounds of legendary violinists and fiddle players such as Vassar Clements, Stephane Grappelli, Tracy Silverman, and Itzhak Perlman. These musicians have revolutionized the fields for my instrument throughout several genres, including Bluegrass, Country, Jazz, Rock, Celtic, and Classical music. Without hearing the recordings from these players and from all of the artists and bands I love, I doubt I’d be the player I am today.”

Where is your favorite local spot? 
“Bill’s Sandwich Palace in East Nashville, hands down!”

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
“When I was a kid, I had always wanted to be a baseball player for the St. Louis Cardinals, my hometown team! Growing up watching those 2006 and 2011 World Series games were some of my favorite memories from when I was younger.”