Jenny Cruz

Dr. Jennifer Cruz is an Assistant Professor of Piano and the Program Director of the Music Mentors program at Central State University, a historically black university in Wilberforce, OH. With roots on the island of Guam, she was raised in Brookfield, Wisconsin. She began her piano studies at the age of four with Suzanne Lent. After being discovered by Alexander Toradze at a master class in Milwaukee, she graduated from high school early to join his studio in January 1996. She received her Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Indiana-South Bend under his tutelage. Dr. Cruz moved to New York City in 1999, to study at the Manhattan School of Music with Phillip Kawin. While pursuing her Masters Degree in New York, she worked at the Boys Choir of Harlem School as an accompanist, and as a pedagogue at the Bronx School of Music and Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn. Dr. Cruz received her doctoral degree at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music under the illustrious team of Elizabeth and Eugene Pridonoff. She has taught at Xavier University and the University of Cincinnati and has performed in recitals and master classes in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, New York, California, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Israel, and Guam. Her affiliations include Mu Phi Epsilon, College Music Society, and Music Teachers National Association (MTNA). She is currently the Vice President of the Western District Ohio Music Teachers Association (OMTA).