Oberlin Portrait: Laurie Rubin Story by Michael Chipman
	Recent Stories: Mezzo-Soprano Laurie Rubin Chosen to Sing at White House in Washington, D.C. Laurie Rubin Wins First Place in Concerto Competition, Performs at the Kennedy Center, and is Awarded a Fellowship to the Aspen Vocal Chamber Music Program News and features about the Conservatory Preview CD's released by faculty, staff & students Past articles from the Oberlin Portrait		Mezzo-soprano Laurie Rubin, a junior vocal performance major from Los Angeles, California. To the world at large, mezzo-soprano Laurie Rubin, a junior vocal performance major from Los Angeles, California, is an extraordinarily talented, driven and charismatic singer. But those of us lucky enough to know her personally realize that her rich voice and impeccable artistry is matched by her sense of humor, warmth and generosity. We know her as someone who has much to give and who gives freely. Rubin studies with Richard Miller, Wheeler professor of singing and director of the Otto B. Schoepfle Vocal Arts Center. Miller describes her work this way: "Laurie Rubin is a musician of considerable consequence. Not only does she possess an instrument of beauty, she uses it with technical security and musical intelligence. She is clearly a young professional artist." Here are a few of her recent accomplishments: Performance on October 16 at the White House in Washington, D.C. under the auspices of the Very Special Arts (see related story) Performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. (see related story) Fellowship to 1999 Aspen Music Festival Chamber Music Program Will perform the role of Rosette in Oberlin Opera Theater's November production of Massennet's "Manon" Winner of 1999 Brentwood-Westwood Concerto Competition; performance with that symphony this past spring Winner of L.A. Music Center Spotlight Award; Performance at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Winner of 1998 Sergio Franchi Award Winner of 1996 Southern California Vocal Association Young Soloists Award for high school students Performance of National Anthem at inauguration of Mayor Reardon in Los Angeles Participated in 1998 Oberlin in Casalmaggiore, Italy summer program Fellowship to Tanglewood high school program What is your first memory of music? Music has been with me for as long as I can remember. I have always loved and felt familiarity with music, just as with my parents and my brother. One memory that has stuck with me is when I was about six years old. I was at a school for the blind and our music teacher had an incredible way of pulling us into any story about a piece of music or a composer. She played Peter and the Wolf for us, and I fell in love with the orchestra because she explained how the different timbers and melodies of the various instruments captured the characters and sounds of the different animals. How old were you when you started studying music? I was about three years old when I started piano lessons. As much as I loved playing, I was never really motivated to practice and really become good at it. I had more fun harmonizing with the pieces as my piano teacher played them, or making up counter melodies. My piano teacher said I should sing because it was something I would enjoy more, and therefore have a stronger desire to excel. My grandparents have always loved opera, and one time my grandmother was cooking, and she said, "Laurie, sing some opera for me." I imitated that sound, and she said she was surprised at how well I emulated the sound. She urged my mother to find a voice teacher for me. When I was almost eleven years old, I started taking voice lessons. What inspired you to be a musician? What keeps you inspired on discouraging days? Mrs. Tavis, who played "Peter and the Wolf," also made everyone in the class learn to make a sound out of many different instruments. She showed us how to hold a trombone and how to play a note on a clarinet, a violin, etc. She made us choose an instrument to learn more in-depth. I chose the flute, and I really enjoyed it. I played for a couple years, advancing enough to play "Three Blind Mice," but even at that time, with positive reinforcement from her and my family, I felt confident that music was something I would feel good about, something I could constantly grow into. On bad days, I depend on the people I love and their unconditional support of what I do to help me through. Sometimes I just have to stop worrying about my level, or if I'll ever get better, or about being competitive. It is good for me to listen to one of my favorite pieces to be reminded of why I do this -- why I put myself through the bad days -- because I do feel so many rewards. What is the most memorable performance you have ever seen and why? The most memorable performance I saw was a Clannad concert. Clannad is kind of an Irish folk/pop group. Their music is cool because it uses several different influences; some of their albums are all folk. They performed, as a family, in concert with a huge orchestra, and they would tell the stories of songs before singing them. It was fun to see the musicians interact with each other and joke around with other members of the group during the concert. Their music is so uplifting. I wanted to dance the whole time. If you could perform with one musician living or dead, who would it be and what would you perform? I would love to sing with Cecilia Bartoli. I have a friend in the Met Young Artist program who was singing a piece from "The Marriage of Figaro," and Cecilia Bartoli overheard, walked into the practice room, and asked, "Do you need a Suzanna?" And she spent the rest of the afternoon jamming with them. I think I could learn a lot musically from her. I'd love to do the madrigal "Zeffiro Torna," by Monteverdi with her because there's a lot of interplay between the two voices as they alternate similar runs. It is really playful and fun. If you could master another instrument, what would it be? I would love to play the mandolin. I have always wanted to play an instrument I could carry around so that a group of people could start singing a song with a rich, warm accompaniment. If you couldn't be a musician what profession would you choose? Which profession would you definitely not choose? I used to want to be a civil rights attorney because I felt that disabled peoples' rights should be fought for. I see cases of very subtle but dangerous discrimination against people with disabilities, and I wanted to learn ways to make people aware of it, and fight it. Now, being a lawyer is the last thing I want to do. I do not want to deal with law school and the many years before I would actually be able to practice law because I would constantly see things I would want to change, but couldn't. Besides, I prefer being associated with singer jokes than lawyer jokes. What do you listen to after a long day? Sometimes I listen to Simon and Garfunkel. Sometimes, I need some REM, and then there are days when I'm in the mood for Irish folk music. One of my favorite things is to lie in bed at night, reading a good book, and listen to the first movement of Schumann's piano concerto in A minor. What do you like to read? I love nineteenth-century British novels, and any fiction that has interesting facts about history and medicine that can be used in an interesting way in a novel. The three words that best describe you: Imaginative, laughing and neurotic.