Sergio Ruiz, D.M.A.

About Sergio

An International Steinway artist, Dr. Sergio Ruiz has delighted audiences throughout the world. His performances on Spanish-speaking radio broadcasts have aired throughout South and Central America. Most recently, he performed concerts in Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, México, Colombia, Bolivia, and Ecuador. Ruiz studied piano in Barcelona, Spain under the tutelage of the late, legendary pianist Alicia de Larrocha.

Ruiz was a founding member of the Hemingway Trio, a group dedicated to commissioning and performing works by American composers. Other endeavors include a recording project of chamber works by Bolivian composer Gustavo Navarre titled The Rescue: The Surviving Musical works of Gustavo Navarre.

Ruiz also enjoys collaborating on interdisciplinary projects. He has performed in numerous collaborations with modern dancers. Most recently, he performed a piano quintet arrangement of Spanish composer Manuel de Falla’s Nights in the Gardens of Spain with the Kazanetti String Quartet. The performance included the poetry of Spanish poet Jorge Guillén, and newly created artwork by American artist Ken Procter. Ruiz was also the Creator and Artistic Director of a Latin American Arts and Humanities Festival—Festival (de) Inspiración.

Ruiz has been actively involved in collaborating with developing music programs in Latin America. In Mexico, he worked extensively with “Música, Esperanza de Vida”; in Ecuador with “Fronteras Musicales Abiertas”; and in Bolivia with the Orquesta Filarmónica de El Alto and the Fundación Bolivia Clásica.

Ruiz is currently a Professor of Piano at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He holds degrees from Santa Clara University, Cleveland Institute of Music, and Rice University. As an academic leader and professor, he has served at the University of Nebraska Lincoln, Georgia College & State University, Sam Houston State University, and Sul Ross State University. After more than a decade of academic leadership, Ruiz returned to his first loves of teaching and performing.