Rhonda Seacrest of Lincoln, Nebraska, and Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts Endowed Dean Chuck O’Connor welcomed new Glenn Korff School of Music Director Sergio Ruiz and his wife, Jennifer, to Lincoln with an event at the Lincoln Country Club on Sept. 8.
Around 125 guests attended the event.
“We’re here to celebrate Sergio Ruiz and his new leadership in the Glenn Korff School of Music,” Seacrest said. “After my first meeting with Sergio, it was apparent that he brings to us two things that truly matter—a passion for excellence and a commitment to equal opportunity for everyone.”
The School of Music was founded at the university in 1894, and O’Connor said Ruiz is the just the 12th director for the school.
“A lot has changed in the nearly 125 years since the School of Music was founded,” O’Connor told the audience. “More and more of our students are coming from a home that speaks more than one language. Many of our students’ parents were not born in our country. Forty percent of our students are first-generation college students.”
Ruiz comes to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln from Georgia College Department of Music, where he was professor of music and chair.
Ruiz was previously director of keyboard studies from 2004-13 and director of the Institute of Latin American Music Studies from 2007-2013 at Sam Houston State University School of Music in Huntsville, Texas. Ruiz was the creator and artistic director of a Latin American Arts and Humanities Festival—Festival (de) Inspiración.
A Steinway artist, Sergio has performed throughout the world, including concerts in the Czech Republic, Belgium, Germany, Bolivia, Ecuador and Mexico.
He earned a doctorate of musical arts in piano performance from Rice University, his master’s degree in music from Cleveland Institute of Music and his bachelor of arts from Santa Clara University.
“What I do know is that we have great people,” Ruiz said. “Not just in the Glenn Korff School of Music, but at the University of Nebraska. I’m so excited to be here. We have a great faculty. We have great students. We have great people. We need to continue to attract people that want to be here that have similar ideals with lots of interdisciplinary work and lots of intercommunity work. We want to prepare our students to be marketable and get jobs and, more importantly, to be leaders. Let’s use that whole ‘Nebraska Nice’ culture, and use that kindness to be great leaders in a positive way, using music as a unifying factor and social empowerment for our students.”