ABOUT
"A phenomenal improviser"
- Oliver Condy, BBC Music Magazine
"The choir's confidence and musicality were plain to see"
- The Reverend Dr James Hawkey, Precentor of Westminster Abbey
Dr. RONNY KRIPPNER is Director of Music
at Ripon Cathedral, UK.
Born in Bavaria, Ronny is in the unique position of having been formed in both the German and British choral traditions. He studied organ playing and improvisation with Prof. Franz-Josef Stoiber at the Hochschule für Kirchenmusik in Regensburg while at the same time working as Assistant Choirmaster of the Regensburger Domspatzen” (“Regensburg Cathedral Sparrows”), Regensburg Cathedral's famous boys' choir. After graduating, Ronny went to Exeter University to take his master's degree (M.A.) in “English Cathedral Music” whilst singing in the Cathedral Choir as a Choral Scholar.
Building on these twin musical foundations, Ronny went on to take up various posts. In 2005 he became Organ Scholar at Bristol Cathedral, Organist at Clifton College and a member of staff at Bristol Grammar school, combining his expertise in organ playing with a gift for choral direction. After a period working at Newport Cathedral, Wales, Ronny moved to London where he was Organist and Teacher of Music at King's College School, Wimbledon. In addition to his school activities, Ronny also held the post of Assistant Director of Music at the celebrated 'Handel church', St George's, Hanover Square (London), with its professional choir and annual Handel Festival. This was then followed by nine years as Organist & Director of Choral Music at Croydon Minster and Whitgift School, London.
Being fascinated from an early age by organ improvisation, Ronny has made this a specialism, for which he has won many accolades. He took part in several master classes on that subject, having studied with Olivier Latry, Naji Hakim, Anders Bondeman, Jos van der Kooy, Hans Haselböck, Loïc Mallié, David Briggs and Daniel Roth. Finalist in the prestigious Organ Improvisation Competition in St Albans in 2009, he won two Prizes in the International Organ Improvisation Competition in Biarritz in the same year. From 2010-2013 and again from 2019, Ronny is Specialist Tutor for Organ Improvisation at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. In 2019, Krippner was awarded a PhD by Birmingham City University for a thesis entitled 'Organ Improvisation in the Anglican Cathedral Tradition: A Professional Portfolio with Critical and Contextual Commentary'.
Ronny has recorded several CDs with organ and choir music on German record labels and has frequently been heard performing on television and radio, both in Germany and the UK. He has given organ recitals in Germany, Holland, Belgium, the United Kingdom, the United States, Mexico and Australia.
