Dr. Namji C. Kim

Dr. Namji Kim graduated from the National Superior Conservatory of Paris with First Prizes (Premiers Prix) in piano, chamber music, and harmony. She earned her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Juilliard School, and her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Manhattan School of Music. Her doctoral thesis was a study of prosody in French Operas. Her teachers include among others Gyorgy Sandor, Lucette Descaves, Ventsislav Yankoff. She also performed in master classes given by Olivier Messiaen, Hans Leygraf, and Andrzej Jasinski. A finalist at the Kahn International Piano Competition in Paris and at the Chopin International Competition in Majorca, Ms. Kim's concert schedule has included performances around North America, Europe, Russia, and Korea, where in addition to her recitals she appeared on television and radio broadcasts. Also an active accompanist, Ms. Kim has accompanied singers in the master classes of Ned Rorem and Louise Talma as well as accompanying for the vocal studios of Gabor Carelli, Paul Sperry, Cynthia Hoffmann, and Gary Kendall. Her chamber music activities include performances within various string ensembles and duos with wind and brass instruments notably performances with cellist Paul Kosower, clarinetist Robert Spring, and trumpeter Thomas Pfotenhauer. In addition to her performing, she has published several review essays relating to the interrelationships among philosophy, theology, and music in the Boston College Journal, "Religion and the Arts." Namji Kim is an active pedagogue in chamber music, piano, and music theory. Her activities have included preparing students at the Manhattan School of Music for the doctoral examinations in Music History and Theory, and preparing piano students for the Juilliard School's entrance auditions. In 1994, she was a visiting artist at Yonsei University in Seoul (Korea) where she gave a series of lecture recitals. Before joining the keyboard division faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire as an assistant professor of piano, Ms. Kim served on music faculties of Graceland University of Iowa and the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. In addition to her teaching and performing, she frequently adjudicates competitions throughout the Wisconsin area. Ms. Kim's area of creative work includes solo and collaborative performances, as well as research on methods that would help physically injured pianists to develop their techniques. Recently, several of her students have found success in graduate programs at the University of Oklahoma, Peabody Conservatory, Arizona State University, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Namji Kim is a member of KAUPA (Korean American University Professors Association). She has given talks on racial issues at UWEC forums and the Tandem Mentorship Program. She has presented on underrepresented composers and artists at the Music by Women Festival at the Mississippi University for Women.