Rūta Girdzijauskienė is Professor of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. She is President of the Lithuanian Music Teachers Association, a board member of the European Association for Music in Schools (EAS), and a board member of the European Network for Music Educators and Researchers of Young Children (EuNET MERYC). On Rūta Girdzijauskienė's initiative, the Lithuanian Music Olympiad for Students has been organised since 2012. Her publications include two monographs, ten teacher handbooks, and more than a hundred research studies and practice-based articles. Professor’s research interests lie in the fields of research methodology, methodology of music education, musical creativity, vocal pedagogy, and teacher education.