Mr. Alexander Cruz was appointed Adjunct Professor of Trombone at Texas A&M University-Kingsville in 2016. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Trombone Performance from New Mexico State University and a Masters degree in Trombone Performance from The University of Texas at Austin. He is currently finishing up his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at The University of Texas. His principal teachers include Dr. Nathaniel Brickens, Dr. Allan Kaplan, and Charles Villarrubia.

Mr. Cruz has been teaching privately in the Austin, TX area since 2011 and in the Las Cruces, NM area since 2005. In addition to maintaining a private trombone studio in Austin he has given masterclasses in several schools including Cedar Park HS, Texas Lutheran University, and the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Mr. Cruz has performed with the Brazos Valley Symphony in College Station, TX and with the Las Cruces Symphony in New Mexico. He also performed extensively with the UT Wind Ensemble under the direction of Jerry Junkin, including a world tour in 2014 through Hawaii, Japan, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, and the UK. As a chamber musician, he has performed extensively with the UT Trombone choir, including being featured as a soloist at a concert at the 2015 International Trombone Festival in Valencia, Spain. Mr. Cruz is also a founding member of the Northside Trombone Quartet, winners of the 2013 International Trombone Festival Quartet Competition, as well as with AMF Trombone Quartet, winners of the 2015 American Trombone Workshop Quartet Competition. The AMF Trombone Quartet performed live at a showcase
concert in Washington, D.C. as part of the competition. Mr. Cruz also performs regularly with several groups in the Austin area including the Vintage 15 Big Band, Vendetta Big Band, Combo Saborea, Gabriel Santiago Big Band, Jumpstart, as well as others.

Mr. Cruz has shared the stage with numerous trombone greats such as Bill Watrous, Jiggs Whigham, Pete Ellefson, Luis Fred, David Garcia, Zach Bond, and Joseph Alessi. In 2015 Mr. Cruz was invited as a fellow to the Alessi Seminar held in Eugene, OR.

Contact Information

Music Department
MSC 174 Texas A&M University-Kingsville
Kingsville, Texas 78363-8202
voice: (361) 593-2803