Penelope Cruz has taught vocal and general music at all grade levels, conducted community children’s and festival and honor choirs, and sung professionally in Illinois, Wisconsin, and New York. Since 2003, she has been the choral conductor at White Plains (NY) High School. Under her direction, the choirs have performed a body of varied repertoire, including newly commissioned works and major works, performing locally and in Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.

She was President of the American Choral Directors’ Association (ACDA) Eastern Region from 2020-2022 and serves as President from 2026-2028. From 2016-2020, she was co-chair of the inaugural National ACDA Diversity Initiatives Committee, through which she made contributions to the Choral Journal and was a part of an ad hoc committee on audition guidelines for honor choirs and auditioned choirs. She served as the Assistant Conference Chair for the 2023 ACDA National Conference and as program chair for the Eastern Region ACDA 2016 and 2020 conferences and Honor Choir Chair (2012 and 2014), where she initiated the Latino Repertoire and Chinese Repertoire Honor choirs. Cruz was NY State ACDA President (2014-2015) after serving as a Repertoire and Standards chair for both Women’s Choirs and Multicultural and Ethnic Perspectives. She has presented various workshops, aimed to bring quality repertoire to every situation, and fostered diversity of all kinds. Through this work, she has fostered systemic changes and championed wider viewpoints, resulting in more meaningful and relevant organization and profession.
In a wish to contribute to the field of music education, Ms. Cruz was a writer on the Arts Standards Revision Committee for the New York State Education Department.
Penelope Cruz is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory and earned the Masters of Music degree from Eastman School of Music. Born and raised in Wisconsin, she currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.