Meet the Ruby’s Uke dream team! Learn with highly experienced team who work both as professional performers and Ruby’s Ukes instructors.
We are all deeply in love with music and love sharing our tips, tricks and techniques with you!
Daphne Roubini (Ruby)
London, England | Vancouver
Daphne ‘Ruby’ Roubini: is the founder, owner and director of Ruby’s Ukes, some do call her Ruby, her childhood nickname. Daphne is responsible for the programming throughout Ruby’s Ukes school and its evolution forward. She is a professional singer (Black Gardenia, and Ruby & Smith), and has a foundation in Jazz studies from City Lit in London and Kodaly musicianship training from the British Kodaly Academy. She plays the piano and Ukulele. She loves simply playing the Ukulele and has used her knowledge of Kodaly concepts to easily, enjoyably and successfully teach thousands of students to play! She understands the value of a different approach to teaching music to adults and it is partly this understanding that underpins the Ruby’s Ukes unique approach that makes it fun and easy! Daphne is always working on her own vocal technique and is currently writing an album of original tunes to be recorded in 2023 on the Cellar Live Jazz label.
Daphne has graced the stages of the Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Mission Folk Festivals in Canada As well as many other prestigious stages across Canada including a regular performer at the Vancouver Jazz Festival, and Frankie’s Jazz Club in Vancouver.
Hailing from London, England, Daphne worked in the Healing field alongside her singing career on the London Jazz scene. This passion for healing and music underpins the foundation of Ruby’s Ukes and her mission to enable everyone to enjoy the healing aspect of simply having music in your life. She considers this something for everyone not the chosen few!
Daphne’s idea to set up a Ukulele school in 2009 grew to create Ruby’s Ukes “perhaps, the largest Ukulele school in the world outside of Hawaii” Ukulele Magazine. She has been profiled as a singer and Ruby’s Ukes ‘Uke-Mistress’ by CBC, CTV, Global news, Ukulele Magazine, Uke Magazine, Vancouver Magazine, The Globe and Mail, The Vancouver Sun, The Georgia Straight, Common Ground, Monte Cristo Magazine, Co-op radio, North Shore News, and many other publications and news outlets.
She believes that music is the soul of life, and brings her experienced, structured yet intuitive, down to earth, supportive, approach to teaching the Ukulele. Not to mention British sense of humour!
Ruby’s Ukes – creator, leader, programmer
RUO – founder and artistic director
Vancouver Ukulele Festival – founder and director
Andrew Smith
London, England | Vancouver
Andrew Smith: is a professional musician, and live sound engineer, as well as one of our beloved Ruby’s Ukes teachers. He has been playing his guitar and performing since he was a young teen performing in a folk duo with his sister as teenagers in England. He now regularly performs professionally (Ruby & Smith and Black Gardenia). His extensive knowledge of
Finger-style, and Jazz, guitar has translated beautifully onto his Ukulele playing and he loves sharing his tips, techniques and tricks to get his students sounding like real pros! His knowledge and supportive teaching style has students loving his workshops and classes!
Andrew has graced the stages of the Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Mission Folk Festivals in Canada with his darlin’ Ukulele in hand. As well as many other prestigious stages.
Having worked at The School of Music in Kingston University, London England, for over 20 years, Andrew brings a keen understanding of the music education system to Ruby’s Ukes.
He brings a gentle, unassuming wealth of knowledge, and easy sense of humour to the teaching faculty at Ruby’s Ukes.
Ruby’s Ukes – Senior Ukulele Teacher
Eduardo Garcia
Ajijic, Mexico | Vancouver
Eduardo Garcia: Is the most recent member of the Ruby’s Ukes teaching faculty, from Mexico, who joined us five years ago. Eduardo has quickly become a Vancouver Ukulele staple! Being both classically and traditionally trained, he was active in a wide diversity of music projects in Mexico, teaching, performing and writing music. Eduardo played several different traditional string instruments with ‘Amate’, a traditional mariachi band based in Guadalajara, that performs regularly inside and outside of Mexico. Eduardo also played the cello and arranged for the ‘Victor Manuel Medeles’ chamber orchestra. He was the founder/director of the Academia de Ukuleles de la Ribera (Lakeside Ukulele Academy) known for it’s work with local children in the community. Eduardo has graced the stages of Ukulele festivals internationally both in-person and on-line. Eduardo’s impeccable arranging has carried the RUO baton, begun by it’s original conductor Timothy Tweedale, into it’s beautiful, fun, present configuration.
Eduardo brings a gentle, unassuming, classical approach to music and the ukulele, an instrument now very close to his heart. His students love his clear, concise teaching style!
Ruby’s Ukes – Ukulele Teacher, RUO arranger and conductor
Listen to “Four little Strings”
The CBC National radio documentary featuring Ruby’s Ukes, and award winning reporter Pamela Post’s personal Uke journey and the healing aspects of the Ukulele, on Living Out Loud, and North by North West, Here’s the link for you the enjoy!
“Daphne Roubini Built Ruby’s Ukes Ukulele School to Nourish the Music Inside of Everyone” Ukulele Magazine, San Francisco.
The Internationally circulated Ukulele Magazine did a feature piece on Daphne Roubini and Ruby’s Ukes, Winter issue 2017 Read here
We acknowledge that we work, teach, and play on the traditional, ancestral and unceded Coast Salish Territory of the šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmaɁɬ təməxʷ (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh-ulh Temíx̱w (Squamish) and səl̓ilwətaɁɬtəməxʷ (Tsleil-Waututh) First Nations. And that the Ukulele first originated from Hawaii, we are grateful to continue it’s journey here in Canada.
Please also note:
For the best atmosphere and learning environment, we reserve the right to ask any student, who’s attitude is not in keeping with Ruby’s Ukes harmonious, respectful, atmosphere, to not continue to take class. Our school is based on mutual respect and the joy of playing music.
Thank you.