Dr. Ruby Chou (she/her) is an arts executive, classical pianist, and educator based in Salt Lake City. She was one of 14 speakers selected out of 364 applicants for TEDxSaltLakeCity 2019– she shared how intergenerational learning fosters social empathy and mitigates social isolation. Her expertise on intergenerational learning environments developed through her teaching and research experiences as the Assistant Instructor of Group Piano at The University of Texas at Austin.
As the executive director of Mundi Project, an Utah-based nonprofit community music organization, Ruby advocates for the mission of actively breaking down socio-economic and generational barriers by providing quality music experiences for all. Mundi Project launched an intergenerational music program in Salt Lake City at Neighborhood House fall of 2019.
As an educator, Dr. Chou mentors 21st-century musicians as adjunct professor of piano and music entrepreneurship at Weber State University. For the 2018-19 academic year, she also taught classical piano, collaborative piano, and piano pedagogy at Snow College Horne School of Music.
As a collaborative pianist, Dr. Chou performs locally and nationally with professional, amateur, and young musicians. She has collaborated with Mark Davidson, principal trombonist of the Utah Symphony, in a series of performances since 2019. For the bicentennial celebration of Edgar Allan Poe, she performed The Raven- A Monodrama for Mezzo-soprano, Viola, and Piano by Gerald Elias with the composer at the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts.
Seeing how vibrant the nonprofit sector makes a community, she was honored to be asked to join the Utah Nonprofits Association Board of Directors– to be a part of necessary conversations regarding our community and to represent the art and music sector of nonprofits in Utah. Dr. Chou is also an active member of Music Teachers National Association and was the chair of the 2020 MTNA National Conference Pedagogy Saturday– Young Professionals & Entrepreneurs track and served on the planning committee of the MTNA Collegiate Chapters Symposium from 2017-2020.
Dr. Chou earned a doctoral degree in Music and Human Learning—Piano Pedagogy Specialization from The University of Texas at Austin where she worked closely with Martha Hilley and Dr. Laurie Scott. She graduated from the Manhattan School of Music with a Master’s degree in piano performance where she also studied pedagogy with Carol Ann Aicher. She has a Bachelor of Music degree from The University of Utah in Salt Lake City where she grew up after emigrating from Taiwan at the age of six and speaks Mandarin Chinese.