Intermittent Lecturer, RC Music Program
About
Hailed by Diapason magazine for her virtuosity and musicality, international concert organist/collaborative pianist, music educator, and recording artist, Dr. Naki Sung Kripfgans, a native of South Korea, has concertized regionally and internationally, including Japan, Germany, Russia, and South Korea.
Naki received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Organ Performance (Sacred Music) and a master’s degree in Piano Performance from the University of Michigan, and a bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Northern Iowa. During and after her studies, Naki received numerous scholarships and awards in piano performance, organ performance, and organ improvisation. She won the 2015 UM Life Science Orchestra Concerto Competition to perform Poulenc’s Organ Concerto at Hill Auditorium in 2016. As a virtuoso improviser, she also won the Robert Glasgow Award for Organ Improvisation Competition at the University of Michigan in 2012, and served as one of the judges for its 2019 competition. She was featured in an article series, “Women in Improvisation”, an interview by Dr. Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra in the December 2020 issue of American Guild of Organists magazine.
Naki serves Bethlehem United Church of Christ in Ann Arbor as Director of Music Ministries. At the University of Michigan, she is a staff collaborative pianist for the String Department at School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, and a lecturer in music program at the Residential College.
