Donald Rubinstein

Donald Rubinstein is a film composer, singer/songwriter, and multi-media artist who is best known for his collaborations with George A. Romero and Avant-garde jazz/rock collaborations with such musicians as Bill Frisell, Emil Richards and Wayne Horvitz.

Rubinstein began music studies at Washington University in St. Louis after rejecting his initial studies with Pulitzer Prize winning poet Howard Nemerov. He taught himself the guitar and piano, transferred to the conservatory, and received a B.A. in music from Washington University in 1972. Rubinstein continued studies for two semesters at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. He quit studies after finding the experience to be too constraining for his experimental ideas. Rubinstein then went on to study on private scholarship with noted piano instructor Margaret Chaloff.

Donald Rubinstein was 24 when he was first introduced to famed horror filmmaker George A. Romero through his brother Richard P. Rubinstein, who had produced Martin for the writer-director. Rubinstein wrote the music for Martin and his soundtrack would become a highly sought collector's item that Mojo magazine called "One of the top 100 Coolest Soundtracks of All Time."

When Romero next turned Camelot into a motorcycle Renaissance Faire for Knightriders, Donald Rubinstein would compose an equally innovative score, as well as appear in the film as the leader of a musical trio. Rubinstein became close friends with Ed Harris on Knightriders, and would later write an unused score for the actor's directorial debut on Pollock. In 2000, Rubinstein composed the score for Romero's allegorical horror film Bruiser.

Donald Rubinstein's other soundtrack work includes the main title for the television series Tales From the Darkside (as well as its film adaptation). He wrote the main title and episodic music for the television series Monsters. Rubinstein also co-wrote and performed "Ain't Nothin' Like a Friend" with Ed Harris, for the Harris directed feature soundtrack, Appaloosa. He scored the documentary feature, Tangled Up In Bob: Searching For Bob Dylan and the German Documentary feature Blender, (2015). Perseverance Records will be releasing selections from that soundtrack along with selections from Rubinstein's soundtrack for Bruiser in 2016. In March 2014 Perseverance released Dawn Imagined, which included concert works based on Rubinstein's original sketches for George Romero's Dawn of the Dead. Rubinstein's score for Martin was released for a fourth time in May 2015 by Ship To Shore Phonograph Company.

As a prolific jazz composer, Rubinstein has partnered with Hank Roberts, Vinny Golia, Bob Moses and Marty Ehrlich, among many other notable performers, collaborating with them in both film recording sessions and live performances. Peter Gordon (Boston Symphony Orchestra) commissioned a work for French Horn and subsequently a jazz trio, including celebrated bassist Anthony Jackson and percussionist Gordon Gottlieb (New York Philharmonic Orchestra). Jazziz Magazine included the duet "Fingers" by Rubinstein and Bill Frisell on their "Celebration of the Modern Era" special edition 20th anniversary CD in 2003.

Also, a critically acclaimed singer/songwriter Donald's work crosses normal boundaries. In 2009 he completed a CD of original songs, "When She Kisses the Ship On His Arm," for Bare Bones Records, which included a vocal-duet with "country outlaw" Terry Allen. Rubinstein has co-written a number of songs with Allen including "Vampires Parade" for his 2010 release "Too Late to Die," which featured long-time Allen collaborator Lloyd Maines. 2010 saw the release of three new Rubinstein CDs. Rubinstein released five varied recordings on three different labels from 2011 to 2016. 2020 marked the release of three new additions to Rubinstein's discography via his own Hijo Records Label. They included The Famous Singer, Eternity, and 36 Year Serenade, The Songs of Donald Rubinstein (Various artists). In 2022 Scare Flair Records is releasing a second edition LP of Rubinstein's score for Knightriders. Second Sight Films (UK) is likewise releasing a fifth edition CD of his score for Martin. Rubinstein has released 30 CDs of original music to date. Of Rubinstein's musical work, Steve Huey of Allmusic wrote, "Singer/songwriter, pianist, jazz experimentalist, soundtrack composer, beat-style poet -- Donald Rubinstein has somehow juggled all those hats over the lengthy span of his creative career."

Beginning in the late 70s, Rubinstein's theatrical works often included iconic storyteller Brother Blue, with whom he partnered in numerous situations including when they both acted in the movie Knightriders. Ed Harris and the Met Theatre produced "Buddha Baby" and "Premonitions" in Los Angeles. Rubinstein's third multi-media performance work, "Strum Road" also premiered there in 1997 to critical acclaim.

Rubinstein has been exhibited at both The Museum of Modern Art and The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City in collaboration with the famed artist Kiki Smith. His single song CD, "Ruby Star," sung in duet with Robin Holcomb, was first sold exclusively at The Museum of Modern Art in 2003. During 2007 The Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, presented a 'thus far' large-scale celebration of Donald's work, including a screening of films he scored, two art exhibits, and a concert performance with special guests John Densmore, Hani Naser and Terry Allen. It also included Rubinstein's directing premiere, "Tales From the Edge," a short animated film based on his drawings. Donald Rubinstein was awarded, via nomination, a fellowship, and residency from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation in February 2014. His work was subsequently featured in the Boston Print Bicentennial and Fountain Art Fair in NYC. Rubinstein published three books of writings and drawings on his own Hijo Records and Press in 2020, including "The Musician's Book of Miracles", "Joke Book", and "Ancestors."

Rubinstein currently lives with his family in Santa Fe, New Mexico.