BOSTON, Mass. (11/24/2008) -- Ethan Rubin does not believe in the Christian God, per se. Instead, Rubin believes that God is a “sort of infinite sum of being.” He believes that all religions are seeking the same thing.
Rubin’s unconventional beliefs don’t stop him, however, from waking up for an eight a.m. Sunday morning church service every week. A junior enrolled in Boston University’s College of Arts and Sciences, Rubin plays bass guitar in a church worship band in Brockton, Massachusetts.
Rubin, 20, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is also one of over 45 students from all over the Boston region who participates in the Inner Strength Gospel Choir. Although the group meets and performs at Boston University’s Marsh Chapel, it is not strictly for BU students. Religious belief is also optional. Participation is not.
Choir director and chapel staff member, Herbert Jones, said that personal faith does not always determine an individual’s dedication to the choir. Jones said that Rubin is one of the most reliable, consistent members of the crew.
“He’s actually been more faithful and more committed than some of the choir members,” said Jones.
Rubin, wearing a fire engine red t-shirt with a chainsaw manual printed on the front that reads, “Lumber assassin,” plays the bass guitar. He has been actively involved with music since age six.
The son of Dr. Emanuel Rubin and Dr. Linda Haegle, Rubin was always encouraged to pursue music. On his sixth birthday, he was told that it was “time to choose an instrument.” Rubin decided on playing the violin. Always up for a new challenge he transitioned to the mandolin by the time he was 12.
While taking mandolin lessons from a violin teacher with a background in classical jazz, Rubin became hooked on the bass. He likes how everything with the bass is so much more relaxed and less symmetrical than the violin. He said that he could relax more, when playing guitar.
“It’s easy to move things around and change key,” said Rubin, demonstrating the way he changes chords with his left hand on the fingerboard of the guitar. Rubin moves with the ease of someone who is handling the familiar.
And Rubin likes things that are familiar. Comfort is something that he seeks in all aspects of his life. That’s why he’s come back for a third year as a member of the Inner Strength Gospel Choir.
“The choir is probably the only reason that I’m still at BU,” said Rubin. “The only place that I felt at home was the choir, people were happy to see me here.”
According to Herbert Jones, that’s one of the unique aspects of the group. Jones said that the choir brings people together and gives them a sense of community. “A lot of people come from different singing backgrounds, not only in church,” said Jones. “The choir allows them to express themselves and to find an anchor and their place on campus.”
John Mason, a sophomore geology major at Tufts University-- eleven miles outside Boston-- is just now finding his anchor in the choir. Saturday afternoon is his first practice as a member of the Inner Strength Gospel Choir. Recruited to play tenor saxophone in the group, Mason is excited to join a choir such as this.
“I’m kinda religious too,” Mason said, adding that the group will provide religious meaning, as well as community involvement. “I don’t know. I just play music. I try to play as much as I can.”
Rubin and Mason, after meeting ten minutes prior, are already in deep conversation as they set up their instruments for rehearsal. The Inner Strength Gospel Choir is preparing for their annual winter performance Friday, November 21, but the boys are not discussing the concert. Rubin, making small talk with comfort and ease, is helping the newcomer, Mason, feel right at home.
As Rubin plugs in his amp and adjusts the knob on the speakers, he tells Mason how he randomly ended up sitting in the recording studio of the band The Roots, while back in Philly. “It was crazy,” said Rubin. “Wow, that’s dope,” Mason said with a grin.
Rubin, always fascinated with music, has chosen not to make a professional career out of playing the bass.
“In the last three years at college, one of the things I figured out is that I actually don’t want to go into music professionally,” said Rubin. “Not because I don’t love it, more the opposite really. I realized that I don’t want it to become the kind of obligation that I wouldn’t be free to enjoy the way I do now.”
Director Jones says that Rubin is a welcome member of the choir and since he joined the group, he has helped create a new “sound for the choir.”
With his black, thick-rimmed glasses and a gauge earring through each ear, Rubin sets his own individual tone, as well. He likes to listen to music groups such as Brahms, 2pac, and the Dead Milkmen; his favorite movie repertoire includes Full Metal Jacket, the Hustler, and Pulp Fiction; and his favorite thing to eat is steak, in Rubin’s words, there’s “no contest” there.
The son of a pathologist and an oncologist, Rubin was 15 days old when a live-in nanny named Carmela entered his life. He remains in close contact with Carmela and visits her every time he returns home. Carmela taught Rubin to speak in Spanish, a skill that has proven to be beneficial in multiple aspects of his life. She also helped shape Rubin’s faith and his ethical standards.
“I can credit her (Carmela) with a lot of the moral fiber I like to think I have now,” said Rubin. “She always stressed things like hard work, honesty, and kindness.”
Rubin says that Carmela also shared a lot of her culture and beliefs with him and his brother. “She (Carmela) was one of the first to pique my interest in religion,” said Rubin, something his parents never paid much attention to. “I remember being a little kid and sitting on the bed with her when she did her rosary at night, and being impressed with how sincere her faith was.”
With a love for travel and a desire to see Carmela’s home country, Rubin studied abroad this past summer in Argentina. Due to his bilingual capabilities, he has chosen to add a minor in Spanish to his undergraduate philosophy major. He says that he owes this all to Carmela and he will always be grateful to her.
However, Rubin says that he has yet to satisfy his continuous travel itch and he plans to attend graduate school in either Scotland or England in the fall of 2010. He likes the idea of picking a random location and moving there for a time. That’s the type of kid he is.
“I’ve known Ethan (Rubin) for three years. He just showed up to choir practice one day his freshman year,” said Jones. “I’m not even sure how he heard about it. He was good, so we tried to keep him around.”
As Rubin and Mason tune their instruments and Jones takes his place at the piano bench, a group of students sitting on the center pews of the chapel begin to clap their hands to the music.
One soloist stands in the front of the imaginary congregation, rehearsing his number for Friday’s concert. The soloist shouts out, “Lord, you are my shepherd!” The chorus responds, the forsaken textbooks and schoolwork on the student’s laps bounce up and down as they clap their hands and join the song of worship.
Rubin, positioned behind Herb’s left shoulder, hovers over the pianist. Strumming a steady beat on the bass, he maintains his own rhythm despite the many pauses in the choral number.
Unfazed by the actions of his choral peers, Rubin runs a hand through his shaggy blonde hair and continues to pluck away at the strings. Reliable, Consistent, and methodical, Rubin strums to his own beat.
By CATHERINE MOORE (camoore@bu.edu)
