MARK ANTHONY CRUZ, a native of Oklahoma, earned his bachelor of music degree in guitar performance at Oklahoma City University. Subsequently, he earned his masters in guitar performance at Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University-San Marcos) where he is currently professor of guitar.

As a composer, Cruz was awarded second place for his Trilogy for Guitar in the University of Arizona School of Music’s First Annual National Composition Contest for Solo Guitar, and was then published by FLP Publishing. He has expanded his original repertoire to include choral music and is published by Shawnee Press. His Triptych for solo guitar was published by MelBay in the Master Anthology of New Classic Guitar Solos, Vol. 1, a compilation of original pieces by world renowned guitarist/composers. His Triptych has had performances throughout the world in the skillful hands of guitar virtuoso Adam Holzman, professor of guitar at UT. Mr. Cruz has also been published by Soundboard magazine. Most recently, Cruz took 1st prize in a composition contest for the second year in a row for his guitar quartet Prism, and in the previous year for his composition El Payaso. These were unanimously selected by a panel of nine adjudicators and were premiered by approximately eighty guitarists in the 2006 and ‘07 Guitars Galore guitar ensemble festival sponsored by the Austin Classical Guitar Society.

Mark is active as a performer and has been a feature artist twice with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic and Ballet Oklahoma. He was the second prize recipient at the National Finger picking Championship at Winfield, Kansas in 1993 and 2001. Mark has performed with gospel artist Yolanda Adams, christian artist Billy Crockett, jazz saxophonist Kim Waters and guitar greats Tommy Emmanuel, Richard Smith, Michael Kelsey and brother Edgar Cruz.