Dr. Sergio H. Ruiz is a Professor of Music in piano at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

He holds degrees from Santa Clara University (BA), Cleveland Institute of Music (MM), and Rice University (DMA). He has previously served at Georgia College & State University, Sam Houston State University, and Sul Ross State University.

An International Steinway artist 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 México, Belgium, Germany, Colombia, Czech Republic, Bolivia, and Ecuador, and he has appeared live on KUHF 88.7, The Front Row and on WGTE FM: Live from FM 91. Dr. Ruiz studied piano in Barcelona, Spain under the tutelage of the late, legendary pianist Alicia de Larrocha. Dr. Ruiz was a member of the Hemingway Trio, a group dedicated to commissioning and performing works by American composers. They returned from a successful tour of Germany and Belgium in Summer 2015. With recent performances at Interlochen Arts Camp, Dr. Ruiz was also the soloist for Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with jazz orchestra, and he also completed a recording project of the chamber music of Bolivian composer Gustavo Navarre (1931-2006). Dr. Ruiz also enjoys interdisciplinary performances. He has performed in various projects with modern dancers. He also performed in a more recent project with a piano quintet arrangement of Spanish composer Manuel Da Falla’s (1876-1946), Nights in the Gardens of Spain, which included the poetry of Spanish poet Jorge Guillén (1893-1984), and newly-created drawings by American artist Ken Procter.

In demand as an adjudicator, lecturer, and master teacher, Dr. Ruiz balances his performance calendar with being a dedicated teacher. He has judged several piano competitions and festivals in the U.S. and South America. In 2009, he won the Texas Music Teachers Association Collegiate Teacher of the Year. In 2011, he won the Faculty Excellence in Service Award. He also served as Artistic Director of a Youth Music program in León, México and is summer faculty at Interlochen Arts Camp since 2008. Dr. Ruiz was the Creator and Artistic Director of a Latin American Arts and Humanities Festival—Festival (de) Inspiración.