Tali Rubinstein

“Nobody told Tali what could and could not be done with a recorder” (Roger H. Brown, President of Berklee College of Music)

 Tali Rubinstein is a NYC based recorder player, singer and composer (for Latin Grammy Award winning album) from Israel, mentioned by Barak Obama in his list of Favorite Songs of 2018. Originating in classical music and delving into jazz, pop and R&B music, Tali has been exploring and challenging the boundaries of this ancient baroque instrument, creating her own unique voice in today's music scene.

Just like most kids, Tali began playing the recorder in 2nd grade. Unlike most, she never stopped. A student of Bracha Kol, who quickly spotted her passion and talent for the instrument, Tali has been professionally trained in classical music. She studied in prestigious music institutions in Israel (Thelma Yellin High School of the Arts, Rimon School, The Buchmann-Mehta School of Music) and received scholarships and prizes (America-Israel Cultural Foundation Scholarships 1994-2006, 2nd prize at the International Recorder Festival Contest in Utrecht, Gilad Shein Memorial Scholarship). Driven by an attraction and curiosity for Jazz and contemporary music, Tali decided to audition for Berklee College of Music, Boston. She received a full tuition scholarship, and became the first recorder player ever to study at Berklee. Tali was later chosen to represent Berklee at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington D.C.​, and upon graduation, received the W.S. Kenney award for outstanding achievement.

During her studies at Berklee, Tali registered for a class with Spanish producer Javier Limón. A few months later, the multiple Grammy Award winning producer offered to produce her duo album "Tal y Tali" together with pianist Tal Even-Tzur. Tali has been working with Limón ever since, including on his masterpiece album "Promesas De Tierra", and on the 2015 Latin Grammy Award winning album "Entre 20 Aguas" - a tribute to Paco De Lucia (alongside Chick Corea, Dhafer Youssef, Michel Camilo, Chucho Valdéz and Alejandro Sanz).

Tali has collaborated with world-renowned musicians: Latin superstar Alejandro Sanz (as player / arranger for the 14th annual Latin Grammys), jazz clarinetist Anat Cohen, flamenco guitarist Tomatito, jazz pianist (and former member of Paul Simon's band) Alain Mallet, Moroccan Sephardic singer Emil Zrihan, jazz vocalist Kevin Mahogany, percussionist Jamey Haddad, Shedrick Mitchell (formerly Whitney Houston’s pianist),  El Piraña, Diego del Morao, Josemi Carmona, Alain Pérez, and others. Israeli leading artists she has played with include Yoni Rechter, Idan Raichel, David Broza, Dan Toren, Dana Berger, Ariel Horowitz, Shimon Buskila, Ilanit, Mark Eliyahu, Ilay Botner, Lea Shabbat, Kobi Aflalo, Dudu Fisher, Knessiat Hasechel, and HaGroovatron. Tali played in masterclasses with prominent baroque artists Kes Booke, Marion Verbruggen, and Michael Schneider, to name a few. 



Tali has toured in the US, Canada, Israel, The Netherlands, Spain, Germany, France, Denmark, Taiwan, the Philippines, Chile and Uruguay. Major festivals she has played in include: Israel Festival (Jerusalem), Tri-C Jazz Festival (Cleveland), First Night Festival (Boston), International Recorder Festival (Utrecht), Asian Recorder Festival (Hsinchu), Méditerranée Festival (Ashdod), Copenhagen World Music Festival, Festival Músicas del Mundo (Santiago), and Festival Jazz a la Calle (Mercedes) . She has performed as soloist with The Israeli Andalusian Orchestra, with the Manila Symphony Orchestra (Philippines), and soon with the Orchestra of Saint Luke's ("Link Up" annual concert series at the Carnegie Hall) .Currently, Tali is working on her third album, which will be produced by Limón and released in fall 2017.