Our Ambassador in the Far East

Tong-Soon Kwak was born into a musical family in Seoul, Korea.   She was greatly influenced by her father, Sang-Soo Kwak, a well-known conductor and organist in Korea.   She studied organ with him at Yonsei University and gained a Bachelor of Music degree.   On receiving a Fulbright Scholarship she went to the University of Michigan, USA, studying organ with Marilyn Mason and harpsichord with Ed Parmentier.  

She graduated with Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees.   She has performed extensively in the USA, France, Germany, Austria and Italy as well as Japan and Korea, and has served on numerous international competition juries.   She has played many dedication concerts and performed with the Korean National Symphony and Seoul Philharmonic Orchestras.   She recorded The Great Organ Works in 1999 as part of the series ‘Korean Musicians of the 21st Century’.  

Tong-Soon Kwak was President of the Korean Association of Organists in 1987, and is currently Professor of Organ and Chairman of the Church Music department at Yonsei University in Seoul, where she has been a faculty member since 1987.