Faculty and Staff

Michael Ruybalid

Assistant Professor of Music - Music Education Coordinator

Contact

Office
Music Building, Room 204B (located inside of Room 204)
Phone
(406) 243-2749
Fax
(406) 243-2441
Email
michael.ruybalid@umontana.edu
Office Hours

 

  • Office Hours (Spring 2024):
    • Mondays, 11:00am-11:45am
    • Tuesdays, 12:30pm-1:45pm
    • Wednesdays, 10:00am-12:00pm
    • Thursdays, 12:30pm-1:45pm
    • Fridays, By Appointment Only.

Also available by appointment between 8:00am-5:00pm Monday through Friday.

To set up an appointment with Dr. Ruybalid, please click here or log into Navigate. If those times in Navigate don’t work or if you are unable to schedule in Navigate, email Dr. Ruybalid to schedule. (For questions about how to use Navigate, please click here.)

Website
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=d_ML-a8AAAAJ&hl=en
Curriculum Vitae
View/Download CV

Personal Summary

Dr. Michael J. Ruybalid (he/him) is Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Music Education at the University of Montana. He teaches undergraduate coursework in general music education, graduate music education coursework, and supervises student teachers. He also teaches early childhood music classes at the on-campus Associated Students of the University of Montana (ASUM) Childcare, which serves as a field experience site for the music education students enrolled in the university general music methods course. Additionally, he is the faculty advisor for the university collegiate chapter of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME-C). Dr. Ruybalid previously taught music education coursework at the University of Maryland and Southeastern Louisiana University. Prior to entering higher education, he taught PreK-12th grade music for eight years in both private and public schools in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Dr. Ruybalid earned his Ph.D. in music education from the University of Oklahoma, a Master of Music in Music Education with a Kodály Emphasis from Holy Names University (Oakland, CA), and a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from Point Loma Nazarene University. He also completed additional coursework for his teacher certification at San José State University. He currently holds Kodály certification (Levels 1-3), Orff-Schulwerk certification (Levels 1-3, Master Class with Chris Judah-Lauder) and Elementary Level 1 certification in Dr. Edwin Gordon’s Music Learning Theory. He has also participated in an online supplementary course on the Dalcroze approach. 

Dr. Ruybalid has presented conference sessions and workshops at the local, state, national, and international levels, including sessions on early childhood music for the Early Childhood Music and Movement Association (ECMMA), the Organization of American Kodály Educators (OAKE), and several state chapters of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). His research interests include the examination of student intentions regarding school music participation. He has presented his research at conferences within and outside of the United States, including the Louisiana Education Research Association (LERA) Annual Meeting, the Desert Skies Symposium on Music Education Research, and the International Kodály Society (IKS) Symposium. He is a co-author for a chapter in the book "Applying Model Cornerstone Assessments in K-12 Music: A Research-Supported Approach," published by Rowman and Littlefield (2018). Dr. Ruybalid currently serves as the Research Chair for the Montana Music Educators Association (MMEA), the Northwestern Division Representative for the NAfME Early Childhood Music Special Research Interest Group (ECM-SRIG), the 2024 Convention Program Chair for the Early Childhood Music and Movement Association (ECMMA), and is a member of the National Conference Planning Team for the 2025 Organization of American Kodály Educators (OAKE) National Conference. He also serves on the boards for SPARK! Arts in Missoula, the Treasure State Orff Chapter of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA), and Big Sky Kodály, the Montana chapter of OAKE. He previously served as the secretary for the Northwest Chapter of the College Music Society (CMS).

Education

Ph.D., Music Education, The University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (2016)

M.M.E., Kodály Emphasis, Holy Names University, Oakland, CA (2010)

Single Subject Teaching Credential, Music (K-12), San José State University, San José, CA (2002)

B.A., Music Education, Point Loma Nazarene University, San Diego, CA (2000)