Lis Rubard brings a lyrical approach to her work in a wide range of styles, especially jazz, new music, and rock.
After receiving her B.M. in Horn Performance from the Oberlin Conservatory, where she studied with principal teachers Roland Pandolfi and David Brockett and chamber music coaches Michel Debost, Richard Hawkins, and James DeSano, and played in the Contemporary Music Ensemble, directed by Tim Weiss, she pursued further studies in jazz with New York hornist and composer Mark Taylor.
Lis' broad musical interests have resulted in performances in every genre, from natural horn with fortepianist Mariko Koide, to brass doubling for new music and jazz. As a sideman, she has worked with artists and groups like Wallace Roney, Numinous, the PULSE Composers Federation (Darcy James Argue, J.C. Sanford, Joseph C. Phillips, Jamie Begian, Joshua Schneider, Yumiko Sunami), the Nathan Parker Smith Large Group, Rob Reddy's Small Town, the Kevin Blanq Big Band, the Tom Abbott Big Band, Kelly Fenton's Bottomless Cup Jazz Orchestra, Rob Mosher's Storytime, Bill Apollo Brown, and the Zipoli Ensemble.
She has played and taught at festivals and clinics throughout the Americas and Europe, particularly as a member of The Loom, a rock quartet called "beloved" by The New Yorker and "The next big thing in folk" by The New York Times. For this group, she arranges and performs on horn, trumpet, keys, and vocals, incorporating effects pedals to craft unique sounds. The Loom recently completed a national tour and festival appearances at SXSW and the Halfway Festival in Bialystok, Poland in support of their debut album, Teeth, and are currently at work on their second full-length album with producer Kevin McMahon (Titus Andronicus, Swans).
“The first difference someone in the audience will notice about the Loom is their leaning towards unique instruments. This is most notable from the start with Lis Rubard alternating between the french horn and trumpet. She’s the main foundation for kicking off their unique and almost big band sound before the rest of the quirkiness of the band sets in.”
“The Loom is that band who suddenly wakes the audience up when female French horn/trumpet player Lis Rubard, busts out a trumpet solo during the bridge, and suddenly makes everyone’s night much more epic.”
“...It’s pretty impossible to fake the French horn, and Lis Rubard set an example for all you punks out there who think it looks easy, at times leading the entire crew with its gentle tenor...”
“His previous albums featured sparse instrumental accompaniment, but here strings and horns, particularly those provided by Kieran Ledwidge on violin, Danah Olivetree on cello, and Lis Rubard on French horn and flugelhorn, add deep, emotive undercurrents.”