Ian Cruz is an accomplished saxophonist, woodwind doubler, EWI player and composer/arranger who has performed with several major artists in the classical and jazz genres. He has been recognized for his abilities as a performer with the Certificate of Outstanding Recognition from the 2017 Elmhurst Jazz Festival and winning the Graduate Blues/Pop/Rock Soloist category of the 2017 Downbeat Student Music Awards.

Ian Cruz is a strong advocate for crossover music education as well as a true crossover musician.  Thus, he has performed in masterclasses and/or in concert with classical artists such as Eugene Roussaeu, Joseph Lulloff, and jazz artists such as Jeff Driskill, Jeff Coffin and Tony Dagradi.

In the Fall of 2017, Ian was featured in two albums produced by Mark Records.  The first album is titled "On The Road" and features the University of Kentucky Jazz Ensemble as well as Ian Cruz's arrangement of "Goin' Home" by Russ Ferrante.  The second album is titled "Stinkin' 3.0" and is a collection of recordings of University of Kentucky Mega Sax groups either featuring Dr. Cruz as a soloist, arranger and/or director.

Ian Cruz holds the degrees of Bachelor of Music in Performance and Music Education from Ithaca College and both Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts in Performance degrees from the University of Kentucky.