I learned a new way to think about mindfulness from watching a German dark comedy series on Netflix this month. Mindfulness is when what’s happening in your mind matches whats happening with your body.
I guess the opposite of being mindful is being mindless.
Also, the opposite of multi-tasking is single-tasking. It takes mindfulness to do a single task. So then, what if multi-tasking is a form of mindlessness.
I’ve noticed how much happier and less anxious I am when I’m successfully exercising mindfulness and single-tasking. My brain feels less like a sieve. I have a better chance of remembering all the names of the singers in my choir when I practice mindfulness (I’m frequently embarrassed by blanking out on the names of students and adults I’ve known for years!).
It’s a struggle.
How easily distracted I am. And how stubborn I am about feeling the need to multi-task.
I don’t need to do it all, and I don’t need to do it (whatever “it” is) right now.
Sometimes, “now” is the time I take to do just one thing with my whole mind and body. I’m trying to create that “now” every day.
Surgery update: Success!
Thank you all so much for your warm wishes and support as I recovered from abdominal surgery. My surgeon says I should still avoid heavy lifting for a couple more weeks, but I got the green light to ride roller coasters. See you on Ghost Rider at Knott’s Berry Farm!
Conducting
Summer is on its way. Get ready to sing Carmina Burana with me!
Harvard-Westlake Spring Choral Concert
Composition
The Summit is Nigh Now Available! Here’s a sample:
For Fun
Practicing mindfulness while on a spontaneous walk through the lovely CalTech campus
May you be joyful. May you be at peace. May you be in the company of loved ones. May you celebrate all 12 days, if you feel like it. May you celebrate Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, New Year’s, and all times in which we experience love, awe, and gratitude. May you be amazed and inspired today and in the days to come.
Surgery update
It got postponed. Bad news: I had a mental and emotional breakdown over this whole snafu and will have to wait for god-knows-how-long before I can have my surgery.
Good news: I’m intact and above ground for Christmas and New Year’s!
Composition
My new album “Ecstatic Expectancy” is now available on all major streaming platforms. Many thanks to everyone who met up with me and purchased physical CDs at our album release events. Want more CDs? Visit me in person on Sundays at Neighborhood UU Church in Pasadena right after the 10am service. And stay tuned for more meet-ups!
Conducting
Come watch me conduct my original Christmas carol “Now the Rejoicing” for choir, piano, and organ at 8pm on Christmas Eve at Neighborhood UU Church in Pasadena.
For Fun
On Thursday December 19, the Harvard-Westlake Jazz Singers performed at Homeboy Industries for the morning meeting with Father Greg Boyle!
(Event photo by Danny Moloshok of Moloshok Photography)
The ETM-LA Gala on December 6 was incredible! I’m so honored to have received their “Shining Star Award” as an educator. The Harvard-Westlake Jazz Singers performed exquisitely with pop star SYML and award-winning film and television composer Blake Neely. The video below is the short film that was shown at the gala:
Michael Fausto conducts the Neighborhood chorus with me singing “I Want Jesus to Walk With Me” arranged by Moses Hogan. I also get to sit in the soprano section while Michael conducts the “Kyrie” from Mozart’s Requiem.
Gonna be fun!!
Conducting
On Wednesday, October 16, I conducted the Harvard-Westlake Chamber Singers at the Riverside City College High School Choral Festival. Singing music by Williametta Spencer, Christopher Wong, and Ralph Vaughn Williams, these young singers were terrific!
For Fun
Woke up from a nap with cats all over me!
Me, starstruck with composer Frank Ticheli after conducting his “Earth Song” at Neighborhood Church last month.
Lately, I’ve been reading and watching stories about apocalypses and dystopias. Some recently-watched films and TV series include “The Last of Us,” “Don’t Look Up,” “Oppenheimer,” and “Fallout.” Also feeding the fires of my apocalyptic musings are the following 3 books: “This is How You Lose the Time War” by Amal El Mohtar and Max Gladstone, “A Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick” by Zora Neale Hurston, and “The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On” by Franny Choi. Even after what seems like annihilation, life and love find a way of continuing, in some form or another, even in post-apocalyptic times.
I asked Perplexity for a definition. Here’s what it said:
“An apocalypse refers to a revelation or disclosure of great importance, often involving the end of the world or a catastrophic event. The term originates from the Ancient Greek word “apokálupsis,” meaning revelation…It’s important to note that while “apocalypse” is often associated with destruction, its original meaning emphasizes revelation and disclosure, which may or may not involve catastrophic events.” I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s no such thing as THE apocalypse. But our world(s) – what ever we define as our world – keep ending over and over again, everywhere, at different times and in different places. We’ve already known massive apocalypses that affect millions over decades and apocalypses that inevitably and utterly destroy us, irrevokably changing each of us from the inside out…apparently just like an apocalypse is supposed to. It’s inevitable.
Isn’t apocalypse the nature of our existance? Isn’t that why today is so SO precious? Because annihilation is inevitable? Because change and evolution and death and new life and new days are inevitable? Though it’s unbareable at times, I accept that I’m living in a time of apocalypse and that a new day is on the horizon, for better and/or for worse, how ever we define “better” or “worse.” Things may get weird and awful and scary going forward, but it will get beautiful, too. We’re truly gonna be okay. It’s inevitable.
Composition
I just finished my commission for the 2025 ACDA National 11-12th Grade SATB Honor Choir. With poetry by Paul Lawrence Dunbar, it’s an up-tempo piece dealing with perseverance and hope. I think it’s gonna be hella-fun to sing! Can’t wait for the premiere in March 2025 at the ACDA National Conference in Dallas, TX.
Preparing to conduct 5 movements from Shawn Kirchner’s glorious “Songs of Ascent” for this year’s ZSR Summer Choir Intensive has been a rich and humbling experience. The performance will happen on 8/11 as part of the 10am service at Neighborhood UU Church in Pasadena.
Singing
Woohoo! On Saturday 8/10, I’m singing in the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Orchestra World Tour happening at the Shrine Auditorium.
by Maurice Duruflé, sung by Zanaida Stewart Robles
Ah, memories of the pandemic! I smiled as I recently listened to some of the first recordings I ever posted. I was particularly tickled with the recording of the Duruflé “Pie Jesu” I made with my dear friend and collaborator Wells Leng. I kinda love what we came up with.
I recently came across this old flyer – what a blast from the past! In the summer of 2011 during my USC days, I collaborated with my friend Seth Houston to conduct a bunch of new music, including Dale Trumbore’s “Sing to the Lord,” the recording of which occasionally gets played on Sunday mornings during Brian Lauritzen’s “A Joyful Noise” program on Classical California KUSC 91.5FM.
Summer vibes at home
A tale of 2 kitties
Ollie visiting the Ivory Tower as we watched “The Never Ending Story”
After I specifically forbade Archie from stepping on my pillow, getting cat hair all over it.
Please check out my website, which now lives at a very easy-to-remember address!
zanaida.com
(For those of you reading this from the blog, you’re already here! Both zanaida.com and zanaidarobles.com will now get you to the good stuff. Thanks for visiting!)
I’m somewhere in between Juneteenth and Independence Day. I feel fiercely American. I feel fiercely Black. Balancing various aspects of my identity is challenging. While I’m finally proud of who I am and where I come from, I am still learning to live authentically and humbly in community with other Americans who are both the same and different from me. In other words, I’m still trying to “do the work.” I inhabit creative spheres where ADEIB and social justice are at the forefront of our consciouness – where we often talk about “doing the work,” which means…well what does it mean??
I asked Perplexity, a conversational search engine, to define “doing the work.” Here’s what it said:
“The phrase “doing the work” is often used in personal development, professional growth, and social justice contexts. It generally refers to the process of putting in effort, time, and energy to achieve a goal, improve oneself, or address important issues…The key aspect of ‘doing the work’ is that it often involves challenging oneself, facing uncomfortable truths, and making consistent efforts over time. It’s about taking active steps towards growth and improvement rather than passively hoping for change. This phrase emphasizes the importance of personal responsibility and commitment in achieving meaningful progress in various aspects of life.”
Welp…there you have it.
Soundcloud Song of the Month
Veni Sancte Spiritus
by Zanaida Stewart Robles
I guess you could call it my best seller! Listen to Veni Sancte Spiritus by on #SoundCloud
My piece “Once I filled My Hand With Mist” in the Out From the Shadows Series with Gentry Publications, edited by Marques L. A. Garrett and James Green, is here!
Are you a singer aged 15+? Take part in an intergenerational summer choir experience that will: ✨ Sharpen your choral skills ✨ Serve your community ✨ Rediscover your love for choral music ✨ Engage spiritually and culturally through music
FEATURING: Musical Selections from “Songs of Ascent” by Shawn Kirchner
Program Fee: $100 (Suggested Donation) Proceeds benefit Neighborhood Church Music Programs
📅 Dates:
Aug 5, 6, 7, & 8: 7:15 – 9:15 PM Piano Rehearsals Aug 10: 10 AM – 12:30 PM Dress Rehearsal Aug 11: 9 AM CALL, 10 AM Church Service 📍 Performance Location: Neighborhood UU Church 301 N. Orange Grove Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91103
