Prof.Fernando Malvar Ruiz 

Litton-Lodal Artistic Director

Fernando Malvar-Ruiz, Litton-Lodal Artistic Director of the American Boychoir, has had a life-long passion for music, having begun his musical studies at the age of ten in his native Spain. His undergraduate degrees in piano performance and music theory are from the Reál Conservatorio Superior de Música in Madrid and he has also completed his Kodály certification in Kécskemet, Hungary, where he was awarded the prestigious Sharolta Kodály scholarship. He also holds a master’s degree in Choral Conducting from Ohio State University, and has completed all coursework toward a doctoral degree in musical arts from the University of Illinois.

Widely sought after internationally as a guest conductor, lecturer, and clinician, Malvar-Ruiz is recognized as an expert in the adolescent male evolving voice. Mr. Malvar-Ruiz joined the American Boychoir School as Assistant Music Director in 2000, 
and was appointed to the position of Litton-Lodal Music Director in 2004. Each year, he leads the American Boychoir in over one hundred performances, and on tour throughout the United States and internationally. During his tenure, The American Boychoir has performed for major national and international events including the 9/11 Memorial Service (broadcast worldwide live on CNN), the Academy Awards, the YouthAIDS Benefit Gala and the US Open Tennis Tournament, among others. The American Boychoir, under Mr. Malvar’s leadership, was chosen to perform at the 2009 ACDA National Convention in Oklahoma, as well the 2010 Kodály National Conference in Dallas, Texas.

In 2014, the American Boychoir made its feature film debut in Boychoir starring Dustin Hoffman, Kathy Bates, Josh Lucas and newcomer Garrett Wareing. Members of the American Boychoir are prominently featured in the film and Mr. Malvar-Ruiz appears as Maestro Molina, in addition to his roles as Music Director, Choirmaster and Arranger for the film.

Mr. Malvar-Ruiz served as Artistic Director and Guest Conductor for the 2005 World Children’s Choir Festival in Hong Kong. He has conducted honor choirs at American Choral Director’s Association national and regional conventions and at the Organization of American Kodály Educators national conventions. For 11 summers, he instructed the summer master’s program in Kodály at Capital University, and in 2007 -2012, he served on the faculty at the Academia Internacional de Verano de Dirección Coral y Pedagogía Musical in Las Palmas, Spain.