about me
Dedicated, Determined, and Passionate
Donald Rabin
Donald Rabin is an interdisciplinary artist working throughout the St. Louis and Houston metropolitan areas as a performer, educator, conductor, and arts leader. A Tessa-Koster and Presser Scholar, he believes deeply in the transformative power of education and the arts to shape the human experience.
An engaging and versatile performer, Rabin has appeared throughout the United States as well as internationally in Italy and Costa Rica. He has performed as a soloist with the Truman State University Wind Symphony in Frank Ticheli’s Silver Lining and Howard Hanson’s Serenade, and with the Truman Symphony Orchestra in Cécile Chaminade’s Concertino. His playing has been featured on FOX News Good Morning Chicago, CBS Chicago, WGN Radio, and NBC’s documentary SkyBlossom.
He has performed with the Texas Symphonic Ballet, Missouri Symphony, New England Philharmonic, Brookline Symphony, St. Louis Philharmonic, and the St. Louis Video Game Orchestra, and has appeared on stage with Houston Grand Opera in Madama Butterfly.
Rabin is active nationally within the National Flute Association, currently serving as Stage Manager (Phoenix 2023, San Antonio 2024, Atlanta 2025), and previously as Technology Intern (Salt Lake City 2019). His performance work has been recognized in numerous competitions, including First Prize in the Dennise Jennings Graduate Professional & Teacher Competition and First Prize in The Art of Winds & Percussion International Competition. He is a National Finalist and St. Louis Chapter First Prize winner of the National Society of Arts and Letters Competition, among other honors.
Committed to community engagement, Rabin is a former Houston Symphony Community-Embedded Fellow and Boston Symphony Collegiate Ambassador. Through partnerships with the Periwinkle Foundation and Houston Symphony, he has performed for patients at Texas Children’s Hospital and contributed as a recording artist for Purple Songs, a program serving oncology patients. He currently serves as an Arts and Health Practitioner/Musician at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.
As an arts leader, Rabin gained national recognition as Project Manager of Come Together Houston, a performance initiative featured in the Houston Arts Journal and at the CDC Foundation Museum (a Smithsonian Institution affiliate). He was subsequently named the University of Houston’s inaugural Arts and Health Fellow and elected President of the Graduate Professional Student Association. His leadership includes service on university strategic committees, arts organizations, and national music initiatives. He currently serves as Interim Vice President of the Flute Society of Saint Louis, Communications and Development Director of Floot Fire Inc., and Director of Flute-A-Thon.
A former Mitchell Center Fellow, Rabin developed a passion for interdisciplinary collaboration and museum curation. He assisted in curating six Convergence Research performances at the Blaffer Art Museum and presented Tying the Knot: The Tyranny of Trauma. His interdisciplinary work led to invitations as a guest speaker at the A2RU Conference and as a student representative at the Emerging Creatives Conference.
In addition to performing and teaching, Rabin is an accomplished conductor, having led the Missouri Symphony, Truman State Symphony Orchestra, Truman State Woodwind Choir, the University of Houston’s Cougar Camerata, and the Boston Flute Festival Flute Choir.
Rabin maintains a private studio and teaches in the Parkway School District. His previous teaching appointments span multiple Texas districts and private institutions, including service as a Graduate Assistant in Music History at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. His students have earned recognition in Texas Area and Regional Bands, St. Louis All-Suburban Band, Solo & Ensemble competitions, and Massachusetts Junior High School All-State ensembles.
He also serves as a Berklee College and Boston Conservatory Mentor, holding certification in Mentorship and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion through Mentor Collective, as well as Associate Level Certification from the Center for Integrating Research, Technology, and Learning.
Rabin’s artistic and academic journey has been shaped by the mentorship of Aralee Dorough, Sarah Brady, Mark Sparks, Dr. Julianna Moore, Dr. Aurelia Hartenberger, and many other distinguished teachers.
In his work as an artist and educator, Rabin often returns to the belief that “the world is your oyster—you must work hard to accomplish and achieve your dreams.”
