This oral history interview with Ariel Rubstein was conducted by Oregon photographer Marian W. Kolisch in two sessions, on December 17, 1984, and February 18, 1985. The interview was part of a series conducted by Kolisch to accompany portraits of Oregon artists, businesspeople, and politicians.

In the first interview session, Rubstein discusses his family background and early life in Kiev, Russia, now Ukraine, including an explanation about the ambiguity surrounding his birthdate. He describes his music education at the Kiev Conservatory. He compares his memories of life in pre-revolution Russia to living conditions in Russia at the time of the interview. He shares his reasons for leaving Kiev in 1919 during the Russian Revolution, describes how he was able to escape Russia, and discusses his journey through Europe while awaiting approval of his visa to the United States, where he arrived in 1922. He shares his thoughts about higher education. He talks about his career as a musician and teacher in New York, New York, and talks about other Russian refugees. He shares his reasons for leaving the East Coast and settling in Portland, Oregon, in 1936.

In the second interview session, conducted on February 18, 1985, Rubstein discusses his career as a musician and instructor in Portland, Oregon. He talks about his marriage to Margaret Eleanor Reed, and about raising a family. He discusses his work as director of the Portland School of Music until its closure in 1959, and talks about how the school’s opera department led to the Portland Opera. He speaks about running his business, Celebrity Attractions, Inc., which produced concerts, operas, and musicals in Portland; talks about promoting the shows to Oregonians; and discusses working with the musical artists the organization contracted with. He closes the interview by sharing his thoughts about appreciation of the arts among the American public in the 1980s.