Following his studies at Eastman Dr. Kruger performed with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra through the summer of 1988. In 1985 he accepted the position of Instrumental music teacher at the School of the Arts in Rochester, N.Y and served there as concert band and jazz ensemble director until the spring of 2000. Currently Dr. Kruger holds a position as Professor and Director of Performing Arts in the department of Performing Arts and Visual Culture at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He has also served as trumpet instructor at the Hochstein School of Music from 1985 through 1990 and served as an adjunct faculty member at SUNY Geneseo as trumpet instructor and Director of their Jazz Ensemble program from 1990 - 2013.

In addition to his duties at RIT, Dr. Kruger is co-leader of the professional jazz ensemble, The New Energy Jazz Orchestra and musical director of The Prime Time Brass. During his performance career, Dr. Kruger has performed with Johnny Mathis, The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Spinners, Julie Andrews, Cleo Laine, Barry Manilow, as well as many others.