Long Beach Chorale Artistic Director Eliza Rubenstein has led the group since 2003. She studied English literature and choral conducting at Oberlin in Ohio before earning her master’s degree in conducting at the University of California, Irvine. As many fans of the Long Beach Chorale might already know, Eliza is an animal lover and a diehard St. Louis Cardinals fan. Choirs often have love-hate relationships with their conductors, usually because those conductors see themselves more as dictators than benevolent leaders. In Eliza’s case, however, as the members of the Long Beach Chorale attest, it’s all love.
Somehow she manages to both challenge me and affirm me as a singer. I love the upbeat energy of her rehearsals.
Kathy Ossman
She brings such insight to each piece. It is more that music–it is the soul of the music.
Jackie Fritz
She stays connected to each moment of the rehearsal, like an improv master, taking in and giving musical observations left and right. It’s like a constant flow of musical learning and betterment. Conducting doesn’t seem like a job to her, but a passion.
Nathan Staph
I appreciate Eliza’s clear instruction, wit, and attention to the emotion of the music.
Steve Allison
Eliza has a great sense of humor, and she is one of the most hard-working people I know.
Tracy Kogen
Eliza cuts right through the other stuff and the fluff and gets to the heart of music; and fast!
Linda Wagner
She demands excellence, and she brings out the best in the group through her almost unfailingly positive attitude.
Joe Ossmann
I love Eliza’s method of teaching music. Every rehearsal is extremely organized, so there is no time wasted. She is very clear about what she wants, and is adept at teaching us how to provide it. By the time we’re on stage, there are no surprises, which enables us to enjoy the fruits of our labor to the fullest!
Julie Cuttrell
I love her insistence on quality sound and pitch, even when sight-reading a piece. I enjoy her pacing of the rehearsal. She obviously knows what she is doing and loves it.
Lianne Bremer
She is the most spontaneous, vivacious, enthusiastic, honest, peace-loving, humorous conductor I ever sang under and so good in teaching.
Janneke Renick
What I appreciate most is her attention to detail and vital energy.
Eve Schleich
Eliza is a wonderful director. She has improved our sound quality and she doesn’t give up on us when we have problems with the music.
Jeanne Grant
She’s witty, incredibly intelligent and tough, but fair… I love when she “goes off” on little things she gets excited about. I can so relate!
Jenny Damm
Eliza is incredible. She is dedicated, a believer in the music and a very talented director. She challenges us to be better each season and guides us until we reach the goal. She is the reason we sound so darn good by concert time!
Elysse James
Eliza’s musical gifts are astonishing and she strives for perfection, but coaches us with a great sense of fun and an infectious enthusiasm for everything involved in music making. I feel so lucky that we get to work with her each week!
Barbara Lloyd Miles
I like how Eliza seems to get into the mind of the composer. She knows exactly how something should sound, and she is very specific about every detail to bring that sound out of the singers. She is also very smart about using her time well. Eliza always comes totally prepared to each rehearsal. Not a moment is wasted.
Diana Scheidker
Cerebral and lyrical aren’t easy to pull off simultaneously, yet she does it every week. I’m also amazed that she’s got such long, extended lines in her conducting. She’s so petite, yet conducts like she’s six feet tall.
Ted Warkentin
She sets just the right tone between seriousness and levity. I feel like I learn so much about the music and its interpretation because she’s such a talented teacher. And I loved that during my first-ever LBCCO rehearsal she mentioned her addiction to America’s Next Top Model.
Claire Atkinson
I love a lot of things about Eliza’s style. She knows how to get the best sound from people, she has taught me so many things about how to be a better singer, she takes pride in her work, she is an excellent musician, she is extremely competent, and she is hilarious!
Kathy Vaughn
For someone as young as Eliza is, she is an old soul. She makes the rehearsal experience exciting and fulfilling. She definitely has a unique style of conducting that can be intimidating. Her energy and knowledge never cease to amaze me.
Teri McCasland
She has a great ear and can pinpoint mistakes. She has a very funny sense of humor.
Susan Graham
I love the way she paints pictures, so we are able to understand exactly what she is looking for. Even though she gets frustrated with us, many times, she always keeps it positive and fun. I love the quality of music that she gets out of us. I also really appreciate that she wants us to tell a story with the music we sing and not just sing notes and words, like so many choir directors allow.
Pat Sort de Sanz
As much as I enjoy performing, I love the rehearsal process also. Eliza is an excellent rehearsalist as well as an extrordinary conductor. Our Monday night sessions are planned well and run smoothly, with specific trouble spots perfected each week. She is patient but persistent in expecting our best at all times. She’s got an excellent ear and has musical ability par excellance!
Kathy McKalip
Eliza guides the singers through the musicality of each piece, allowing the listener to not only hear, but to feel the music.
Dale Hutchinson
She runs a very tight ship, and she has that ability which great conductors have of personalizing music. She tells the different voice parts, for example, which of the characters they represent at Jesus’ birth–Mary, Joseph, the wise men. I respect the skill it takes to interpret music in this fashion.
Connie Ordway
I am tempted to just say “everything”, but her superlative knowledge of the metiér, and her willingness to share this knowledge with us, and to demand the best from us, is truly exceptional.
Peter Woodruff
I continue to be amazed by her passion and dedication and her ability to draw performances out of us that far exceed anything we would ever have hoped to accomplish. She hears EVERYTHING that happens and knows how to pinpoint the issue and correct it, but never singles an individual out for correction, allowing the group to improve together.
Bill Eldon
Eliza is a highly talented conductor. I am especially pleased to say that I was on the hiring committee that brought her to Mesa Verde United Methodist Church in Costa Mesa. She gets the very best out of her singers at whatever level (church choir, college choir, community chorale). Finally, I learn so much during the concerts from her stories she shares with the audience.
John Breihan
