Category: Upcoming events

A List of Six Favorite Lists

  • Balance
  • Resonanate
  • Flow

(if I do at least four of these with intention, I’ll have a pretty good day.)

  • Pray
  • Practice Music
  • Exercise
  • Drink Water
  • Do a chore
  • Read

AKA “If Feelings Could Talk“: Not sure who originally came up with this, but I saw it on Facebook and dowloaded the poster for free from teacherspayteachers.com

  • Sadness: I might need to cry
  • Loneliness: I might need to connect
  • Shame: I might need to exercise self-compassion and mindfulness
  • Resentment: I might need to forgive
  • Emptiness: I might need to create something
  • Anger: I might need to enforce some boundaries
  • Anxiety: I might need to breathe deeply (and drink some water)
  • Stress: I might need to slow down (and do less)

(If I do at least four of these, I’ll feel satisfied that, whatever the occasion, it was a successful celebration.)

Decorate
Dress up
Enjoy special foods
Make Music
Dance
Give thanks for that which is being celebrated

From the book by Don Miguel Ruiz

  • Be impeccable with your words
  • Don’t take things personally
  • Don’t Make Assumptions
  • Always do your best
  • Form
  • Texture
  • Timbre
  • Rhythm
  • Melody
  • Harmony
  • Dynamics


(Sometimes “Tonality” is thrown in as an 8th element, but not all music is tonal)

Composition

Summer spree

It has been wonderful to study composition with a private coach this summer. I’m learning to be more efficient, systematic, and disciplined in my practice. I still have so much to learn, but my productivity and stamina have increased tremendously. I’m working on five different projects right now, and feel like I’m actually making progress on all of them.

This pace of work isn’t sustainable throughout the year, but it’s perfect for the month of July. I look forward to sharing the fruits of my labor beginning this fall.

A composer chat for unSUNg

As part of their ‘Holidays in July” fundraiser, I was part of unSUNg’s first composer chat this summer, and the conversation was released on YouTube on July 11. Check out the video to hear me, Amy Engelhardt, Paul Gibson and Michelle Green Willner talk with artistic director Ariel Pisturino about what it’s like to write music for a holiday, which holidays are sorely underrepresented, and what might come next!

Available now: We need a little Kwanzaa

See the program that inspired it all, as a replay of last fall’s “Sharing Music” is available starting today. This diverse program celebrates a variety of December holidays, and includes my settings of “Umoja” and “Kujichagulia”, illustrating two of the seven principles of Kwanzaa. The video performance features the West Victory Dancers, with Olivia Bowman-Jackson and Abdur Rahim Jackson.

Nonprofit Music News

CCDA

I am so excited to begin my first year on the board of the California Choral Directors Association (CCDA) as the R&R Chair for Choral Composition. The CCDA Summer Summit starts on Monday, July 26.  Fall is close at hand, and this is one way we orient our brains towards preparing for our choral programs! You don’t have to be CCDA members to join us for any portion of this, including the meetups!

Register here
Hang out with choral friends in person here

(I’m going to a couple of the hangouts, including the one in Long Beach with my mentor Jon Talberg at Belmont Brewing Company on Tuesday, July 27th! Hope to see you there!)

Most of the sessions will be available to watch online until October 1st, so you can watch them later if you register.

Registration will be open until October 1st, but try to join us for the live sessions NEXT WEEK! JWPepper virtual repertoire will be available until August 27th.

NANM

The National Association of Negro Musicians held its 102nd convention virtually from July 11 – 14th. Congratulations to all presenters, performers, newly elected national board members, and all 5 national scholarship competition contestants. This convention was truly inspiring!

I look forward to continuing my service to NANM as an at-large member of the national board for the 2021-22 program year.

Tonality

Tonality’s name can be seen in the credits on the Space Jam movie that came out on July 16. We saw it on opening night, just to make sure!

For Fun

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

Join me on Sunday, August 15 for a virtual celebration of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s birthday!

We’ll watch a fascinating talk about the sociocultural aspects of Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast, followed by a virtual sing-along. 

Send me an email for a link

Ollie update

Ollivander has grown so much! He’s 3 months old and hilarious!

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purple circles

Boundaries and Circles

Circle of Life
Circle of Friends
Circle of Fifths
Circle of Care
Circle of Security
Circle of Siblinghood
Circle of Service

A circle is a boundary. The 2020-21 academic year taught me a lot about circles and boundaries. I find that when I’m stressed and scared and frustrated and angry and possibly traumatised or abused, my boundaries become more rigid. I don’t have the capacity for flexibility. It’s a fight or flight modality of thinking. When I don’t have enough money, splurging or spending more is not an option. Saving money, however little it might seem, becomes a matter of survival. When I feel my safety is at risk, adventure is not an option. And trust becomes extremely difficult to embrace. When I feel my sanity is hanging by a thread, self-preservation is survival. I can’t risk even the slightest social or intellectual challenge for fear of completely losing it and breaking down altogether. And so I erect rigid boundaries to keep myself safe, to keep me as healthy as possible, to keep me going when I feel like I could break at any moment. I’d say that for many of us, much of the 2020-21 school year was this way.

But I also think back on those moments when a friend reached out to see how I was doing, or when I was inspired by the work and wisdom of colleagues and students, or when my family came up around me to comfort me or to make me laugh. I recall seeing signs in the midst of darkness that there was light at the end of the tunnel, and it gave me hope. And when I saw hope, I felt the urge to push past a boundary and widen my circle. In these moments of hope, I found courage to ask for help one more time. I found enough courage to take an extra step, even when the ground felt like it was crumbling beneath my feet. I felt courageous enough to trust that if I allowed myself to be vulnerable, the benefits might outweigh the drawbacks. Maybe for a split second, I dared to let my guard down and do or say something with a courageous expectation that my efforts would not be in vain. With hope supplied from the loving energy of colleagues, friends, and family; and with evidence of positive change and growth around me in my community, I found enough courage to push the boundaries that were keeping me in my own little safe circle. And this is how my circle grows.

I understand why we need boundaries. We need to know the limits of our circle so that we can survive. We need to know who not to trust, when to say no, where not to go, and when to conserve resources. But as we define and redefine the boundaries of our circle, may we strive to soften it, push it, and draw it ever wider so that we ourselves may grow. After all, this is the circle of life. It’s not a dead, rigid circle, but a living circle that breathes and moves as life challenges and changes us along the way.

Conducting & Composition

I’m thrilled to share that my proposal to present a session called “Come Together: Fostering Meaningful Collaborations between Composers and Conductors” with my friend and fellow composer Dale Trumbore was selected to be included in the ACDA Western Region Conference in March 2022.

Can’t wait to see y’all in Long Beach!

For Fun

kitten with toy
We got a kitten! Meet Ollivander “Ollie” Robles. (more pics to come)
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That’s a lot of Zoom!

My deepest gratitude to the following institutions and organizations for welcoming me as a guest speaker in their virtual spaces over the past 8 months. I have loved engaging online with the educators and students in these places where choral music is alive and thriving:

California School of the Arts, San Gabriel Valley
California State University, Long Beach
Chapman University
The Choral Commons
Gonzaga University
The Handel and Haydn Society
InUnison Pod Cast
LHC Studios
Temple University
University of Chicago
University of Southern California
University of Utah
Virginia Commonwealth University

Composition

My choral works “No Fairy Tale Here,” “Veni Sancte Spiritus,” and “Can You See” continue to gain exposure across the country and even internationally. I’ve been so inspired from learning about and listening to music of other non-idiomatic Black composers over the last 2 months. There are so many musical ideas and sketches I want to develop that I almost don’t know where to start! Pray for me as I try to tackle new commissions for a short organ solo work and a new anthem for mixed choir and organ.

Teaching

On Friday, March 26, I’m presenting a virtual talk with Dr. Jace Saplan through the Western Division of ACDA on having transformative conversations in choral rehearsal spaces to help facilitate inclusion with the goal of producing more deeply meaningful and engaging performance experiences.

Get details on Facebook

I’m also looking forward to participating in the Black Women Composers Summit presented by Dr. Lori Hicks of LCH Studios March 26-28.

Learn more

For Fun

The 2021 ACDA National Conference March 18-20 celebrated the richness of our nation’s diverse choral communities. Even though it was a virtual conference without in-person activities, I was inspired and uplifted by the presentations and performances of colleagues, students, and friends. One of my favorite parts was participating in the Black Women Composers and Conductors network meet-up. There was so much beauty and musical magic all around me. It was humbling. Plus, it was really fun!

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Seen, heard and valued

Have you ever had an experience where you’re talking with a person or a group of people (virtually, synchronously, or otherwise) and they never respond to what you say, or they only respond if they have a problem with what you’ve said?

Have you ever thought, “Am I talking to myself? Do they not hear me? Do they not agree with me? Is what I said stupid? Do they not care about me? Do I not belong here?”

Did your heart sink? Did it make you angry? Did you keep thinking about it long after the moment had passed?

Have you ever agonized over trying to find the right words to express yourself only to have your words met with a nauseating silence?

When this happens to me (like it has on several occasions recently), it’s really painful. I truly hope I haven’t inadvertently caused anyone else to feel this way. If I have, I’m sorry.

We are in community with one another, and all of us need to feel seen, heard, and valued by each other. It’s not just about ego. It’s about caring for each other, lifting each other up, and keeping each other mentally and emotionally safe and healthy.

Why don’t we encourage each other more? Why don’t we offer more praise and gratitude for each other? Do we care enough to consistently respond promptly? Do we respect each other enough to consistently show up on time or even show up at all? Do we show our gratitude for one another? Sure, sometimes unforeseen circumstances prevent us from doing so. But what about the “foreseen” times when we fall short?

If we want a better world, we have to cultivate healthier communities and better relationships. The time it takes to more consistently pay undivided attention to each other, show care and gratitude for each other, and act with kindness and consideration in this world is time well invested.

Composition

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been amazed at how much interest there has been in my compositions, especially “Veni Sancte Spiritus” and “Can You See?” I’ve written a bunch of other stuff, too! A list of my works can be found on my website. Here’s the order form to purchase perusals and official scores. My SoundCloud page contains audio samples of many of my original compositions. Here’s a link to a sample of my piece “Umoja.”

A few of my works are not available directly from me. My piece “No Fairy Tale Here,” a tribute to the great writer Ida B. Wells, is published by MusicSpoke.com. For a sample recording, you can click here.

Conducting

At Neighborhood UU Church we are embarking on our first choral project of the year – a virtual choir rendition of the Duruflé Sanctus, with video!! A compilation of individual videos of singers will be mixed and edited into a video that will allow us to virtually “sing together” though we’re apart. Here is the link to the conducting video I made to be used as a guide when singers make their recordings.

Here’s the video

Anyone familiar with this piece who wishes to sing with us in our virtual choir is welcome to join us! Virtual rehearsal take place every Thursday at 7:15pm starting this Thursday, August 27. Singers’ videos are due by Friday, September 4th at 5pm. The finished video will be premiered during our Neighborhood UU Church virtual Homecoming service on Sunday, September 13 on Vimeo and Facebook.

Wanna sing “Sanctus” with me? It’s easy! Reply to this post or visit my website at zanaidarobles.com, and use the contact form to let me know you’d like to participate. I’ll send you all the information you need so that you can join us for our virtual choir project.

Singing

I had myself a glory attack! Here’s a preview of a gospel-style recording I made of the Negro spiritual “Over My Head” for an upcoming service at Neighborhood UU Church.

Listen on Soundcloud

For Fun

I used to joke about how I didn’t like to cook and wasn’t very good at it. But it’s COVID times, y’all! And with encouragement from my bestie Debby, my darling husband Vincent, and my wonderful mother-in-law Karen, I can honestly say I’ve grown to enjoy it! My favorite thing to do is chop stuff, especially celery and carrots. Don’t laugh, but one of my signature dishes right now is instant ramen with sautéed veggies and Trader Joe’s smoked herring. I also make a killer bruschetta with fresh basil, tomatos, and kalamata olives. 

First row: “I discovered black rice!”; Smoked sardines with avocado and salsa over rice; Veggie sautèe and garlic pork soup dumplings over rice; Ramen with smoked herring

Second row: Chopped a bunch of stuff and made a scramble; Smoked salmon ramen; Traditional

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Heading into a new decade

I’ve begun work on an album of my original sacred music for choir, piano, and organ. I’m hoping to have the album completed later this summer.

This project will give me an opportunity to work with colleagues and friends in various Southern California faith communities and educational institutions.

I’ll share updates as they unfold…

Compositions

Zanaida’s brand new work, “She Walks in Pools”, was commissioned for the CCDA SSAA All-State Honor Choir and addresses the timely subject of depression and anxiety. The piece will be premiered on Saturday, February 22 in Fresno, CA during the California All-State Music Education Conference.

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