David Rubio

Who was David Rubio?

David Rubio, was an English maker of stringed musical instruments. His creations included guitars, lutes, harpsichords, theorbos, vihuelas, citterns, panduras, and finally also violins, violas and cellos. His instruments were prized during his lifetime by many fine musicians including the English lutenist and guitarist Julian Bream. The Rubio Quartet named themselves in his honour.

David Rubio was born in Perry, New York, and acquired his new surname in his twenties while professionally playing flamenco guitar which he had learned studying in Seville with, among others, the guitarist Pepe Martinez. In the early 1960s he traveled from Spain to New York as accompanist for the Rafael de Cordoba flamenco dance company. While in New York, Rubio abandoned playing in favor of the construction of guitars and established his first workshop on Carmine Street in New York's Greenwich Village. Eventually he returned to England and set up a workshop near Oxford, later relocating his workshop to Cambridge. Over time he expanded his repertoire to include the various other instruments mentioned above.