Sunkyung Noh

&

Grant Smith

August 3, 2026 at 7:30pm

at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion

About Sunkyung and Grant

Sunkyung Noh is a South Korean concert organist. She studied with Dong-ill Shin at Yonsei University and earned two master's degrees in Organ and Claviorganum under Wolfgang Zerer and Menno van Delft in Hamburg, Germany. She pursued advanced studies in Leipzig with Martin Schmeding. Noh has garnered recognition both in Korea and internationally. In 2022, she won second prize at the International Schnitger Organ Competition in the Netherlands, and later that year, she won first prize at the 6th International Buxtehude Organ Competition in Lübeck, Germany. In January 2023, she became the first Asian winner of the prestigious International Mendelssohn Competition, earning both the First Prize and the Contemporary Work Interpretation Award. In July 2023, she also received First Prize and the Gold Medal in Interpretation at the 32nd St Albans International Organ Competition. She performs actively across Europe, Asia, and the United States, appearing in renowned venues such as the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, King’s College in Cambridge, Church of the Advent in Boston, and St. Bavokerk in Haarlem. She has also performed with orchestras at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig. In 2026, she will release her debut solo album and tour internationally.

Grant Smith is an award-winning concert organist from Fresno, California. His performing career has taken him to major venues around the world, including in the US, Ireland, England, Germany, South Korea, and Japan. Smith was awarded Second Prize in Interpretation at the St Albans International Organ Competition in London in July 2025. Previous competition successes include Third Prize in the 2024 Leipzig Bach Competition, First Prize in the 2023 Hall Organ Competition in Texas, and First Prize in the 2022 Feith Competition in Germany. He is a recent graduate of Rice University in Houston, where he studied with Ken Cowan for a master’s degree in organ performance. While in Houston, Smith held organist positions at Christ Presbyterian Church, West University Baptist Church, First Lutheran Church, and the Houston Masterworks Chorus. He accompanied the West University Baptist Church Choir on an eight-concert tour of Ireland in July 2024. Smith graduated with two bachelor’s degrees in music and civil engineering from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, where he won the school’s Concerto Competition twice in both piano and organ. In Summer 2023, he studied historical Baroque performance in Leipzig, Germany.

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Mother Goose Suite, M. 60
V. The Fairy Garden

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)
The Carnival of the Animals
I. Introduction and Royal March of the Lion
III. Wild Donkeys (Swift Animals)
V. The Elephant
VI. Kangaroos
VII. Aquarium
XIII. Swan
XIV. Finale

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Fantasia in G Major, BWV 572

Leo Sowerby (1895-1968)
Carillon

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)
Suite No. 2, Op. 17
IV. Tarantella

Thomas Tomkins (1572-1656)
‍ ‍A Ground, MB 40

Sigfrid Karg-Elert (1877-1933)
7 Pastels from the Lake of Constance, Op. 96 No. 7
V. Hymn to the Stars

Louis Vierne (1870-1937)
Organ Symphony No. 6, Op. 59
V. Finale

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Hungarian Dances, WoO 1
I. Allegro Molto
VII. Allegretto
V. Allegro - Vivace - Allegro