Soojin Kim Ritterling
Voice / Music Education
240 Center for the Arts
(608)785-8417
kim.sooj@uwlax.edu

BIOGRAPHY:

Dr. Soojin Kim Ritterling is General Music Specialist at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse where she teaches general music methods classes in music education. Prior to joining the faculty at UW-L, Dr. Ritterling taught "Music Play" program (for children from birth to age four) at the University of Southern Mississippi. She received a BM and MM in music education from the Korea National University of Education, and Ph. D. in music education from the University of Southern Mississippi. Her dissertation investigated the influence of sequential movement activities on young student's singing abilities. Dr. Soojin Kim Ritterling was born and raised in Jeonju, South Korea. The area is rich in Korean traditional music. Having grown up in a family of musicians, Dr. Ritterling joined the "Sun Muong Children's Choir" known as the "World Vision of Korea" and started singing and performing at the age of seven. This experience in her childhood led her to choose a career as a music educator. She previously taught general music classes, and served as a choir and band director in public schools in Korea. Besides teaching music, she has been involved in various musical fields. She has performed vocal recitals and choir concerts and served as an appointed referee for the weekly children's song contest Korean Broadcasting System in Korea. Recently Dr. Ritterling was appointed state chair for Multicultural Education of the Wisconsin Music Educators Association. Dr. Ritterling is a Korean folk music enthusiast, having played traditional Korean instruments as the "Kayakum" (a 12-stringed instrument), and percussion instruments such as the Channggo (hourglass-shaped drum), Kkwaenggwari (small gong), Ching (large gong) and Buk (drum).

Please feel free to contact the Music Department with any questions you might have about our degree programs and courses. We would be happy to answer you questions as well as give you a tour of our facility. For more information, please contact:

Dr. Gary Walth, Chairman
Music Department
University of La Crosse
La Crosse, WI 54601
(608) 785-8409