Sergio Ruiz, D.M.A.

About Sergio

Dr. Sergio Ruiz is an innovative educator, accomplished pianist, and dynamic academic leader. An International Steinway Artist, he maintains an active national and international performing and teaching career. His performances have been broadcast on Spanish-language radio throughout South and Central America. As a member of the summer piano faculty at the Interlochen Center for the Arts, Ruiz performs world premieres by the Interlochen faculty and has collaborated with principal musicians from the Baltimore and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestras.

Ruiz brings this same artistic vision to higher education leadership. From 2017 to 2022, he served as Director of the School of Music at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where he secured funding for a new music building and major restoration project totaling $90 million. He also oversaw construction of a 10,000-square-foot dance facility, expanded health and wellness initiatives, advanced diversity efforts, and established academic partnerships with universities in South Korea and China.

Previously, Ruiz held leadership positions as Department Chair at Georgia College & State University, Director of Keyboard Studies at Sam Houston State University, and Music Area Head at Sul Ross State University.

Internationally, Ruiz has collaborated extensively with developing music programs in Latin America. He founded and served as Artistic Director of the Festival de Inspiración, celebrating Latin America’s cultural diversity. His outreach work includes partnerships with Música, Esperanza de Vida in México, Fronteras Musicales Abiertas in Ecuador, and the Orquesta Filarmónica de El Alto and Fundación Bolivia Clásica in Bolivia.

Ruiz is currently Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities at Angelo State University. He holds degrees from Santa Clara University, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and Rice University. His teachers include Hans Boepple, Paul Schenly, and Robert Roux. As a recipient of a Wagoner Fellowship, Ruiz studied with the late pianist Alicia de Larrocha in Barcelona, Spain.