A passionate advocate for music education and the transformative power of choral singing, Malvar-Ruiz brings over 25 years of experience working with children’s and youth choirs at the highest artistic level. Prior to his appointment to LACC in 2018, he was Artistic Director of The American Boychoir for over a decade, where he led the ensemble in more than 150 performances annually, including five national and international tours per year. During his tenure, The American Boychoir collaborated with many of the world’s leading orchestras—including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic, and London Symphony—and performed for such esteemed conductors as Pierre Boulez, James Levine, Kurt Masur, Michael Tilson Thomas, Marin Alsop, and Valery Gergiev.

Malvar-Ruiz has also worked alongside a diverse roster of acclaimed artists including Yo‑Yo Ma, Wynton Marsalis, Kathleen Battle, Paul McCartney, Josh Groban, and Beyoncé. His performance credits include appearances at the Academy Awards, the YouthAIDS Gala with Ashley Judd and President Bill Clinton, and the nationally televised 9/11 memorial service at Ground Zero in New York City. He served as the music director and vocal coach for the feature film Boychoir, starring Dustin Hoffman, Kathy Bates, and Josh Lucas.

A native of Spain with roots in Vigo, Galicia, Malvar-Ruiz began his musical training at the age of 10. He studied piano and music theory at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música in Madrid, earned a master’s degree in choral conducting from The Ohio State University, and completed doctoral coursework in choral music at the University of Illinois. He also holds a certification from the prestigious Kodály Institute in Kecskemét, Hungary, where he studied under a scholarship from the Sarolta Kodály Foundation.

A highly respected clinician and guest conductor, Malvar-Ruiz has led workshops, residencies, and festival choirs across the United States and internationally, including in Hong Kong, Australia, France, Latvia, the Czech Republic, South Korea, China, and most recently, Brazil. He is a frequent guest faculty member at Kodály summer institutes and choral conducting symposia worldwide, where he is known for his engaging teaching style and deep expertise in vocal development during adolescence.

In 2022, Malvar-Ruiz was awarded a Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance as one of the choral directors in Mahler’s Symphony of a Thousand (Symphony No. 8) with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel.

At the heart of Malvar-Ruiz’s work is a belief in the transformative power of choral music to inspire, educate, and connect.