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The American conductor, Eliza Rubenstein, was born to a musical family, and first requested violin lessons at age 4 so that she could "play on street corners for money" when she grew up. She she continues to play violin and viola as a hobby, and she has recently taken up the mandolin. She studied English literature and choral conducting at Oberlin College in Ohio before earning her Master of Music Degree in choral conducting at UC-Irvine.
Eliza Rubenstein joined the Music Department faculty at Orange Coast College (OCC) as a part-time choral director in 2008, and became OCC's full-time Director of Choral and Vocal Activities in 2009. Besides her position at OCC, she is also the Artistic Director of the Orange County Women's Chorus and the Long Beach Chorale & Chamber Orchestra, and a Music Director at Mesa Verde United Methodist Church.
Ensembles under Eliza Rubenstein'S direction have performed at Disney Hall's REDCAT Theater, the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, and the 2004 and 2012 Western Division conferences of the American Choral Directors' Association. She also serves the ACDA as California chair of Women's Choirs' Repertoire and Standards. The Orange County Register recently praised her "expert direction," and the Long Beach Gazette has said that "Musically and technically, she has it all." Her choruses are known for their adventurous and creative programming and their dedication to performing new music and championing up-and-coming composers.
For eight years Eliza Rubenstein was the assistant supervisor of the Irvine Animal Care Center; she is the co-author of a book about dog adoption, and she shares her Costa Mesa home with a beagle mix named Frances, a black Labrador mix named Jackie, and a grey cat named Wilbur. Her other guiding passion besides music and animals is anything, anything at all, to do with the St. Louis Cardinals. |
