Short Bio:

Dr. Cheyenne Cruz’s playing has been described as “above and beyond the mastery of [her] instrument"
and her compositions as “playful, full of humor and whimsy, almost filling the air with laughter” by
Audiophile Audition.

Dr. Cruz joined the University of Texas-Arlington faculty in 2016, where she teaches a thriving clarinet
studio. She was selected as a Buffet Performing Artist in 2017, and recently joined D’Addario
Woodwinds as an Artist Endorsee. Additionally, Cruz serves as the Woodwind Chamber Music
Coordinator at the University of North Texas, and was chosen as a member of the ICA ClarinetFest
planning committee for the 2021 and 2025 conferences. As an orchestral musician, she is the bass
clarinetist of the Texarkana Symphony Orchestra and the Longview Symphony Orchestra, and she
frequently appears with the Dallas Winds and the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra. An active chamber
musician, Cruz is a member of the Maryland Chamber Winds and the Madera Wind Quintet.

A firm believer in the intersection of performance and pedagogy, Cruz recently performed Scott
McAllister’s Black Dog concerto with the UT-Arlington Wind Ensemble at the Texas Music Educators
Association Conference in 2017, and frequently performs for the International Clarinet Association
ClarinetFest conferences. She currently serves on the planning committee for ClarinetFest 2021, which
will be hosted in Fort Worth, Texas. Dr. Cruz holds a Bachelor of Music from McMurry University, a
Master of Music from Florida State University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of North
Texas. Her primary clarinet teachers were Dr. Kimberly Cole Luevano and Dr. Frank Kowalsky.

Long Bio

Dr. Cheyenne Cruz has been described as playing “...above and beyond the mastery of [her]
instrument...“ and has astonished audiences with her performances, with reviewers noting “...the
colours of the upper registers of her instrument—at initial hearing it was hard to believe it was a bass
clarinet!“ Her compositions have been described as “quite playful, full of humor and whimsy, almost
filling the air with laughter” and that her music “stands outside all easy stylistic pigeon-holing and packs
an emotional wallop all its own!”

Cruz joined the faculty at the University of Texas Arlington in 2016, teaching applied clarinet lessons,
clarinet studio class, chamber groups, music appreciation, and aural skills classes. Cruz has represented
the Buffet clarinet brand as a Performing Artist since 2017, and in 2020 she joined D’Addario
Woodwinds as an Artist Endorsee. Cruz holds positions as the second clarinetist in the Texarkana
Symphony Orchestra, bass clarinetist in the Longview Symphony Orchestra, and bass clarinetist in the
South Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. Cruz completed her DMA in clarinet performance with a related
field in music education at the University of North Texas in 2015. She also holds a Master's degree in
clarinet performance from Florida State University and a Bachelor's degree in music education from
McMurry University.
As a soloist, Cruz recently performed Scott McAllister's Black Dog concerto with the UTA Wind Ensemble
at the Texas Music Educators Association convention (TMEA) in 2017. In more intimate soloistic
ventures, Cruz frequently performs for the International Clarinet Association ClarinetFest conferences,
often playing her own compositions for bass clarinet and live electronics. Within the context of a larger
ensemble, she has appeared with the Dallas Winds, the Lone Star Wind Orchestra, the Tallahassee
Symphony Orchestra, the San Angelo Symphony, and the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra. An active
chamber musician, Cruz has competed in both the Plowman and Fischoff chamber music competitions.
Currently, she is a member of the Maryland Chamber Winds and Madera Wind Quintet where she
performs alongside her husband, bassoonist Jorge Cruz. In addition to those traditional ensembles, Cruz
broke artistic ground in her role playing and composing for amplified bass clarinet and flute in
WoodWired, an electroacoustic duo. Described as “fabulous,” “ adventurous,” and “spellbinding,”
WoodWired used looping software and other live electronics to perform original music. WoodWired’s
album "In The Loop" was released in 2018 under the University of Texas Arlington Record label.

In addition to her performing career, Cruz has been working diligently to organize academic events that
bring the clarinet community together. She served on the planning committee for ClarinetFest 2021
hosted in Fort Worth, TX. Additionally, she organizes the annual UTA Clarinet Day, an event that features
local artists, music businesses, and academics to provide learning and networking opportunities for high
school and college age students in DFW. Cruz has been published in The Clarinet Magazine, the monthly
journal issued by the International Clarinet Association, with an article entitled "A Pedagogical Guide to
Playing Bass Clarinet in a Wind Ensemble." Prior to that, she completed an undergraduate thesis entitled
"Mickey Mousing Squared: Postmodernism in Cartoon Music" for which she graduated with special
honors in Music History. Her major clarinet teachers include Dr. Kimberly Cole Luevano and Dr. Frank
Kowalsky