Category: Upcoming events

Abundance with Grace

We’re all surviving to the best of our ability. But our abilities and resources differ depending on our circumstance, our history, or our environment. Sometimes a person’s burden is not so obvious, especially in festive settings. So in the midst of both abundance and scarcity, may we strive to pay attention and speak and act graciously with each other this Thanksgiving.

NUUC Christmas Concert – December 19

Enjoy selections from Magnificat by J.S. Bach, plus traditional sing-along favorites you won’t want to miss. Guaranteed to make you smile!

Compositions

Five performances in Colorado, Dec 6-21

Internationally acclaimed guitar virtuoso, composer, and Colorado native Aaron Larget-Caplan joins Kantorei in holiday performances featuring seasonal selections written for Guitar and Choir, including the world premiere of his own Cider Meditations. We will also feature works by composer and guitarist Jeffrey Van, whose compositions gained widespread recognition through his collaborations with the renowned Dale Warland Singers. Adding to the excitement of new musical discoveries, the concert will present the world premiere of a new work by composer Zanaida Robles, commissioned by Kantorei’s own Scott Horowitz and his wife, Leah Weinberg.

Join us as we combine traditional holiday spirit with contemporary compositions, offering audiences both seasonal favorites and the excitement of hearing new works performed for the first time.

Learn More

LA River Scenes – world premiere!

December 16 in Downtown LA

LA River Scenes blends melodies I made up in my childhood and young adult years with impressions from my recent experiences with the LA River Kayak Safari tour company. The LA River Kayak Safari journey begins with a bike ride along the LA river’s edge followed by an fascinating history lesson about the Elysian River Valley and finally an exciting kayak trip down the luscious river with baby rapids and deep pools of up to 10 feet. My piece reflects the love and pride I feel for my hometown and my excitement over discovering I can go kayaking near Dodger Stadium in summer.

Photo of Aron Kallay by Elisa Ferrari

Event Details

For Fun

HALLOWEEN MEMORIES
I decided to go ahead and carve my pumpkin even though it was several days after Halloween had passed. WORTH IT!! 
CHOCOLATE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY
I helped organize this year’s HW Professional Development Interdisciplinary Session “Chocolate Day!” From holding the huge alien fruit pods to tasting the difference between the bitter, slimy-yet-crunchy fresh fruit and the powdery, complex-flavored bean once the fruit was fermented and roasted; to exploring the intersections of history, art, science, and economics and finally tasting and packaging our work: making chocolate with the help of brilliant friends is fun!
I also did some research and found these two songs about chocolate that I’d never heard before:

Chocolate Sundae on a Saturday Night by Doris Day

Chocolate by Soul Patrol

Ollie and Archie, warming our hearts as they warm each other

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Zanaida Stewart Robles Singers logo under dramatic stage lights with text announcing the group is officially not-for-profit

ZANAIDA STEWART ROBLES SINGERS

We’re now an official not-for-profit organization!!

Zanaida Stewart Robles Singers creates intergenerational artistic experiences by inspiring and cultivating cultural, intellectual, and spiritual engagement through choral music. 

The ZSR Singers Summer Choir Intensive
is happening August 4-10 at
Neighborhood UU Church, Pasadena.
Cost is $100 per person.
Ages 16+
Visit www.zanaidarobles.com to register or for more info.
Zanaida Stewart Robles conducts a diverse choir and string ensemble in performance at Neighborhood UU Church, with colorful stoles and a pipe organ in the background.

Compositions

Exterior view of the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis in Missouri, featuring Romanesque architecture, green-tiled domes, and twin towers against a cloudy sky.

New work headed for St. Louis

I just submitted the manuscript for my new setting of O Magnum Mysterium for soprano and organ. The work was commissioned the American Guild of Organists and will be premiered next year at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis during the 2026 AGO National Convention.

Singing

Vocal soloist performs with choir, conductor, and chamber ensemble on stage during a concert, with projected text above honoring Ahmaud Arbery.

Photo by Mercy Luna

Saturday, May 24 was a night of powerful choral singing at the Wallis Theater in Beverly Hills. I was honored to be a soloist with the GRAMMY Award-winning group Tonality in the premiere performance of Alexander Lloyd Blake’s new work entitled Running From, Running To: A Musical Reflection on Ahmaud Arbery.

Read more about this powerful work in these news features in the LA Times and the LA Sentinel

Travel

My HW choral students performed Haydn’s Paukenmesse at Carnegie Hall earlier this month. Though I didn’t conduct the performance myself, it was incredibly rewarding to hear the singers rave about their experience and to see them dance together with joy and pride over their accomplishments. Dr. Julie Yu-Oppenheim was efficient, expressive, and hilarious in rehearsal. And she was masterful on the podium in performance. My students loved her! When we weren’t in rehearsal, we got to enjoy the sights and sounds of the Big Apple.

For Fun

Group of colleagues enjoying an outdoor dinner at a long marble table at a restaurant, smiling and relaxed in the evening sunlight with pizza and drinks.

We had a fun summer-time meet-up with members of the Southern California Vocal Association (SCVA) and composers from the California Choral Directors Association (CCDA)

Passengers smiling and interacting with a calm tabby cat sitting on someone’s lap during a flight, capturing a joyful moment aboard a commercial airplane.

I sat next to a kitten on the plane to New York!

Happy summer travels

(or staycays), everyone!

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TODAY, MAY 25, IS MY 46th BIRTHDAY!!

While I’m celebrating my own journey today, I want to send a little encouragement your way, too. May this season of your life bring unexpected kindness, meaningful change, and reasons to smile. We’re all in this together, and I’m so grateful for the connection.

Zanaida in red and gold graduation gown smiling with two children at a university commencement ceremony, surrounded by a crowd of graduates and family.

Celebrating 10 years as a DMA

I wanted to be a “doctor of music” ever since I was 8 years old. In December 2014, after more than 4 long years, I graduated with a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California. I walked in the Thornton graduation ceremony in May 2015. Here’s a memory of me with my daughters on that special day. I think 8-year-old me would be amazed!

Conducting

Registration starts in just a few days!

Sign up to be part of our Summer Intensive with the ZSR Singers — we’re singing Carmina Burana this year!

Flyer for the Zanaida Stewart Robles Singers summer choir intensive featuring ‘Carmina Burana.’ Program begins August 2025 in Pasadena. Registration opens June 1, 2025.
Check us out on Facebook

For Fun

Woman playfully posing at a Roland keyboard during a rehearsal with sheet music, surrounded by fellow musicians preparing for a performance in a room with red stage curtains.

Come see the Frostig School community production of “Bye Bye Birdie” on May 29, 30, 31 at 7pm and June 1 at 2pm at the Frostig School in Pasadena. I’m playing in the band!

Close-up of feet wearing beaded, multicolored sandals with double buckle straps and coral pink toenail polish on a wooden floor with white fringe rug visible in corner.

Spring pedicure with Mother’s Day shoes

Smiling woman holding the book ‘Choral Repertoire by Women Composers’ in a cozy study space, highlighting contributions of female composers in choral music history.

Check out this new textbook. I’m on page 592!

Close-up of a woman leaning in affectionately toward a relaxed tabby cat on a bed with soft blankets, capturing a tender moment of connection and comfort.

In love with my cat

What’s on your mind?

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A person sitting on a bench in a forest clearing, looking out at the bright sky through tall trees.

Mindfulness

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

Curled up in the bed with Archie on my feet

What’s on your mind?

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Merry Christmas!

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:

Goat yoga for the holidays…

…and…more Christmas antics!

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Originally published as Zanaida’s December 2024 email letter – Click here to read online

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