Eric Z. Rubinstein is a singer, conductor, and performing arts educator hailing from New York. His work includes vocal and choral music, music education, and integrated arts for performers of all ages. 

 

Dr. Eric Rubinstein is Associate Director of the School of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Nazareth University, where he directs the Chamber Singers, teaches coursework in conducting and music education, and oversees the Choral Area. Additionally, he serves as the Artistic Director and conductor of Concentus Women’s Chorus, an auditioned community-arts treble choir based in Western New York. Prior to his appointment at Nazareth, Dr. Rubinstein served as Assistant Professor of Choral Music Education at the Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College (CUNY).

 

Ensembles under Dr. Rubinstein’s direction have presented performances in significant venues in the United States, England, and Poland, through recordings on the 1809 Studios label, and with acknowledgement by The American Prize. Dr. Rubinstein has also led ensembles to invited performances at major conferences, including the American Choral Directors’ Association Eastern Region, National Association for Music Education Eastern Region, New York State School Music Association, and New York-ACDA.

 

Active as a scholar and lecturer, Dr. Rubinstein regularly appears at music conferences throughout the world speaking on the topics of popular and commercial styles, and approaches to conducting pedagogy inspired by dance forms. He has presented for regional, national, and international conventions of NAfME, ACDA, College Music Society, the European Association for Music in Schools (EAS), and the International Society for Music Education (ISME), and has been published through Choral Journal, Music Educators’ Journal, The Choral Scholar, and Anacrusis (Choral Canada). A leader in synthesizing traditional with vernacular styles, Dr. Rubinstein has also forged collaborations with composer/arranger, Garrett Breeze, as well as with the Department of Theatre & Dance at Nazareth University.

 

Prior to doctoral studies, Dr. Rubinstein amassed a decade of high school teaching in Monticello and Westhampton Beach, NY, where he concurrently served on the music education faculty at CUNY Brooklyn College. Dr. Rubinstein was also on the artistic faculty at the New York State Summer School of the Arts, and remains active as a guest conductor and clinician for various honor choirs and choral festivals.

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Throughout his career, Dr. Rubinstein has received many accolades for his contributions to the field of choral music education. He is the recipient of a Distinction in Teaching Award from Nazareth University (2024), the inaugural  Collegiate Educator Award from the New York State School Music Association (2025), and a named Quarterfinalist for the GRAMMY Music Educator of the Year (2026).

 

Additionally, Dr. Rubinstein enjoys a career as a professional solo and ensemble tenor. Favorite roles include Man 1 in Songs for a New World, Henrik Eggerman in A Little Night Music, and the title “role” in Craig Hella Johnsons’s passion-oratorio, Considering Matthew Shepard. He has also appeared with Red Shift Choir, the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, eVoco Voice Collective, and The New Musicals Project, and has worked with such notable artists as Craig Hella Johnson, Victoria Clark, and Kristin Chenoweth.

 

With an extensive background in dance, Eric has taught and choreographed for high school, collegiate, and New York City stages, including Fredonia State University, Stagedoor Manor, Cortland City Ballet, and the Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theatre. His "innovative choreography" (Buffalo ArtVoice) has been seen in musical theatre, opera, and concert dance productions across New York.

 

A participating member in several professional organizations, Dr. Rubinstein has served as the New York- ACDA Repertoire & Resources co-chair for LGBTQIA+ Choral Music from 2021-2025. He holds a D.M.A. in Choral Conducting with a minor in Music Education from Louisiana State University, a M.M. in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University, and a B.Mus. in Music Education with a minor in Dance from the State University of New York at Fredonia.