Birthdays are funny things, and can even mean something new every year. But I offer the following in celebration this month:
Composing
My Kwanzaa Song “Ujima” is being included in a new social justice songbook created by Philadelphia-based choir, Singing City. It will be performed on Tuesday, May 30th at 7:30 pm.
I’m elated to share that on June 4 at Zipper Concert Hall, VOX Femina Los Angeles will present the world premiere performance of my arrangement of “LIft Every Voice and Sing” for treble voices.
Join me on Zoom on Wednesday, June 7 at 7pm for a watch party, celebrating our trip to New York and viewing our entire performance at Carnegie Hall where I conduct “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast.” Contact Zanaida to be added to the guest list.
In honor of Juneteenth, I’m singing “A Real Slow Drag” from Scot Joplin’s opera Treemonisha during the 10am service on Sunday June 18, at Neighborhood UU Church, Pasadena. Please join us!
1. Making music with friends, students, and colleagues was, is, and will always be the thing that most deeply nourishes my soul.
2. There is still so much work to do to bring the music of underrepresented and marginalized composers into our collective consciousness. I’m not alone in this work, and I’m not the only one who can stand in front.
3. I discovered some new limits and boundaries for myself. Managing the tour logistics for multiple separate ensembles, while preparing and conducting a major work is not something I would do again or recommend. And while I ultimately enjoyed myself, it turns out I can only stand New York for a few days at a time.
4. Bottom line: it was totally worth it!! I couldn’t be more proud of our work. My life and the lives of our singers and instrumentalists are forever changed for the better thanks to this monumental experience. I’m certain that our friends Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Jane Schoolcraft, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow are having a beer together, smoking pipes, and smiling down on us from heaven.
Back Home
I’m creating spaces that inspire me and fill me with great memories and good vibes. My office where I teach is essentially the size of a closet. It can be a suffocating little space. But creating a little art wall inside has turned this tiny hole into a little sanctuary of delight. It’s a work in progress, but I love the direction in which it’s headed. I’d love to add a few more small artworks to the wall above my desk.
Felted landscape by my dear friend Debra PenberthyThree paintings by my conducting teacher, Paul A. Smith
Painting by Alberto Scarabattoli, purchased from his studio while on tour in Assisi, Italy
Documenting the finished product
Singing
I like listening to this little demo I made not too long ago:
I’m looking forward to more session work this summer. And I’m learning some new solo repertoire to perform in church next season!
Conducting
In May at Neighborhood Church, I’m conducting my setting of “Sanctus,” Bobby McFerrin’s “23rd Psalm,” and John Kimball’s “A Quiet Stream.”
Conducting my own music has always been a challenge for me. I find that even though I know my stuff by heart, the conducting gesture doesn’t come automatically or easily. So I’m practicing conducting some of my larger works in anticipation of performing them with the California Coleridge-Taylor Singers this summer. Stay tuned!
Composing
My piece “Veni Sancte Spiritus” is being performed by more than 600 young singers from across Southern California at the LAMC High School Choral Festival on Friday, April 28 at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
LAMC artistic director Grant Gershon rehearsing with hundreds of high school students
New publications
I’m excited to share that my arrangement of “His Eye Is On the Sparrow” by Charles Gabriel is being released by Hal Leonard:
In honor of spring’s arrival, I present my piece “Blühende Bäume” (Blossoming Trees) for SSATBB choir and strings, performed by Neue Kammer Leipzig. Coming soon to MusicSpoke!
Listen to Blühende Bäume by Zanaida Robles on #SoundCloud:
Regular readers know that I’m taking a big group of singers to New York and conducting a concert at Carnegie Hall on March 28. Please send us good vibes from wherever you are, and we’ll give you a full report in the next issue! For now, here’s more about the project:
Are you in New York? Please join us!
Let My Love Be Heard feat. Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast Tuesday, March 28 at 8PM Stern Auditorium, Carnegie Hall
This compelling program features a commissioned work, Truth, by indigenous artist Sage Bond and arranged by Zanaida Robles. It asks urgent questions about who is seen and heard, historically and into the present day.
This is the moment I realized, “I can’t believe I’m really taking these 94 high school musicians to New York next week!”
For Fun
Visiting with the USC Chamber Singers — They sound great on my setting of Psalm 61!
This is a holy time. It is heralded by Mardi Gras, the Tuesday of revelry and indulgence before Ash Wednesday, a day of solemnity and spiritual focus. This is when many Christians around the world begin observing the season of Lent (the 40 days and nights before Easter) by taking on a beneficial challenge or abstaining from certain comforts in order to fortify themselves mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Like a New Year’s resolution, Lenten disciplines can be very hard to keep. As a Christian, the time to which I look forward most is Easter: the resurrection; the end of 40 days and nights of wandering in the wilderness — a joyful and much anticipated day of rebirth. With the promise of Easter far off in the distance, it’s a little easier to commit to maintaining a Lenten discipline.
I feel like my Lenten experience started months ago, when I embarked on the final push toward conducting Coleridge-Taylor’s Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast at Carnegie Hall this coming March. And now, with the actual season of Lent upon us, taking on the enormous task of organizing this historic performance feels even more significant. Sometimes I feel like I’m under attack. Sometimes I feel alone and lost. I feel worn, starved, and stretched beyond my limits. Sometimes I feel like I can’t go on. But the promise of salvation and rebirth linger in the distance. Like the old Negro spiritual says, “I gotta keep my hand on the plow and Hold On!”
And then, oh what a happy Easter this will be! I’ll be singing “The Strife is O’er,” “Welcome Happy Morning,” Lo, the Day of Days is Here,” and so much “Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!” I’ll be singing and shouting and feasting and drumming, giving thanks to God for such an amazing day! Liturgically, there may be 40 days of Lenten hell, but there are 50 days of Easter bliss. Since my Lent seems to have lasted for months and months, you’d better believe that my Easter is about to last for years to come!
Composition
Come hear my new work, “Intersectionality”, with VOX Femina, in a couple of weeks:
Made in LA Identity and Belonging in the City of Angels Saturday, March 11 at 7PM First Congregational Church of Los Angeles
Join us as we celebrate the many cultures and communities that define our “City of Angels!” Explore the unique soundscape created by the diverse communities of Los Angeles and enjoy music in English, Spanish, Hebrew, and Farsi, honoring the ecclecitc populations of the city. Featuring new works by LA-based composers Zanaida Stewart Robles, and Saunder Choi, plus a collaboration with GMCLA a cappella group Aftershock!
Conducting
March includes some very fun music during the 11:30am service at Neighborhood Church:
3/5 — Music by Joni Mitchell and Eliza Gilkyson
3/12 — Music by Ludwig van Beethoven and Buryl Red
3/19 — Works by Palestrina and Coleridge-Taylor
HIAWATHA’S WEDDING FEAST @ IN LA AND AT CARNEGIE HALL
3/24, 7:30pm @ Emmanuel Lutheran Church in North Hollywood
3/28, 8pm @ Carnegie Hall, NYC
Singing
This past weekend at Neighborhood Church, I was thrilled to sing “Dear Husband” from Songs of the Slave by Kirke Mechem and Dream Variation by Margaret Bonds.
For Fun
Memories of Valentine’s DayStudents admiring Dr. Robles’s new coat
During the 2023 ACDA National Conference Feb 22-25 in Cincinnati, I’m presenting an interest session with my colleague Will Chandler on “Re-Discovering the Choral Music of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.” I’m also hosting interest sessions, participating in panel discussions, attending reading sessions, and engaging with friends and fans.
Hope to see you there, my choral peeps!
Conducting
I’m conducting one of my favorite choral chestnuts, “Choose Something Like a Star” by Randall Thompson (pictured), this Sunday 1/29 during the 11:30am service at Neighborhood Church.
In February, I’m conducting “Rise Up, My Love” by Healy Willan, “Red Red Rose” by James Mulholland, and Der Gang Zum Liebchen by Johannes Brahms.
FUNDRAISING UPDATE: The benefit concert on December 16 was a big hit, and proceeds exceeded our expectations. Thanks to the generosity of concert supporters, we’ve now raised about 3/4 of what we need in order to fully fund our Carnegie Hall trip in March.
More to come soon — it’s getting close!
Singing
Also this Sunday 1/29, I’m singing my setting of “Imani” (faith) for solo voice and organ at the 9am service at Neighborhood Church. Come hear us!
Neighborhood Church in Pasadena
For Fun
Frostig School students rockin out at their January “Motown” music recitalHW Students with residents after singing at a local senior care facilityOn one of our rainiest days this month, a bird flew into my classroom and wouldn’t leave. I caught it when it tried to settle in the corner of a window. While excitedly showing it to my colleagues, I accidently released it in the HW bookstore. An hour later, after much coaxing and laughter, it safely departed.
The legendary Bishop Michael Curry preached live at St. John’s Cathedral on Saturday January 14. I was star-struck!
Ollie’s Corner
Ollie, sad to see the Christmas tree go back in the box
