In 1993 he graduated from the L. P. Kiryukov Saransk Music College in Choral Conducting (class of S. S. Molina), and in the same year sang in the choir of the I. M. Yaushev Mordovian Music and Drama Theatre.
From 1993 to 1998 he studied at the Kazan State Conservatoire as a student in Academic Choral Conducting in the class of Professor A. V. Buldakova.
From 1995 to 1998 he was a chorister and chorus master in the «Dornenkrone» («Thorn‑Crown») Chamber Choir at the German Cultural Centre in Kazan under Honoured Art Worker of Tatarstan A. V. Buldakova, and directed children’s choirs at the Novo‑Savinovsky District Children’s Music School in Kazan and in the Vysokogorsky District of Tatarstan.
From 1998 to 2000 he pursued a second degree at the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music in Folk Choir Conducting, and from 2000 to 2002 completed an assistant‑traineeship there in the class of Professor L. V. Shamina.
From 1999 to 2001 he was a vocal soloist with the Moscow Regional Children’s Philharmonic. From 2000 to 2015 he taught in the studio of People’s Artist of Russia V. V. Nazarov at the Gnesin Academy; from 2006 to 2011 he taught vocal‑choral disciplines in Nazarov’s course at the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts (GITIS). Between 2000 and 2002 he served as chorus master, vocalist, and instrumentalist (and in 2007–2008 as Principal Conductor) of the State Musical Theatre of National Art under Artistic Director V. V. Nazarov.
He has taught at the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music since 2001 in the Department of Choral and Solo Folk Singing, becoming Senior Lecturer in 2006, Acting Associate Professor in 2011, and Associate Professor in 2016. Since 2007 he has also taught in the Moscow children’s theatre‑music studios «MOTSART» and «Karnavalnaya mozaika». From 2015 to 2020 he worked with the Moscow State Academic Philharmonic’s ensemble «Festival» as chorus master, vocalist, and instrumentalist.
Since 2015 he has taught at the Institute of Ethnocultural Education (BIZ) in the Russian‑German House in Moscow, and since 2020 he has been a member of the Russian Public Voice Academy.
He served as Chair of the State Examination Board at the L. P. Kiryukov Saransk Music College in the 2022/2023, 2023/2024, and 2024/2025 academic years.
In 2025 he led a professional‑development course of the Gnesin Academy at the Altai Krai State Philharmonic for members of the folk ensemble «Vecherki» and for students of specialised colleges and universities in Barnaul.
Yuri P. Naumkin is a music director, conductor, and arranger of numerous musical productions and concert programmes of the State Musical Theatre of National Art and the Moscow Chamber Music Theatre «El Art» (Artistic Director E. V. Shumilova). He is a laureate and diploma winner of all‑Russian and international competitions and festivals in Finland, Malta, Italy, Morocco, Spain, Germany, India, and CIS countries.
He directs folk‑singing ensembles of students in the Department of Choral and Solo Folk Singing at the Gnesin Academy and leads his own educational project «Chelovek‑orkestr» («One‑Man Orchestra»).
He is a soloist with the Moscow vocal‑instrumental groups «Kvartet‑Band» and «Bavarskaya Karusel».
He has appeared in a number of feature films and worked as a session multi‑instrumentalist on soundtracks for television series and solo albums, including the Kremlin Christmas Tree gala 2025 and other projects.
Since 2023 he has been a member of the hundred‑strong expert panel on the Russia‑1 TV music show «Nu‑ka, vse vmeste!»; in the 2010s he served as a folk‑choir expert for the «Tavrida» Art Cluster in Streletskoye (Razdolnensky District) and Sudak in the Republic of Crimea.
He is a regular jury member and chair at international, all‑Russian, and regional competitions, including:
- «Kazachy krug» («Cossack Circle», various regions of Russia);
- «Slavyanskiy khorovod» (Smolensk);
- «Vesennie protaliny» (Kazan);
- the M. M. Verner Arts Festival‑Competition (Kemerovo);
- «Veselaya karusel» (Moscow), among others.
He is the author of:
- the collection of folk‑song arrangements «Pesni finnov Rossii» («Songs of the Finns of Russia»);
- the textbook «Using Musical Instruments of the Peoples of Russia and of Near and Far‑Abroad Countries in Work with Children’s, Student, and Professional Folk‑Singing Ensembles and Soloists»;
- a number of scholarly and popular articles in various publications.
