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!
The gorgeous environment at Yosemite’s ECCO Retreat Center made this conference even more special. Meeting friends, hearing music and sharing these beautiful surroundings together made it far more than just work!
Not my picture, but isn’t Yosemite gorgeous?
Conducting
On August 12, we performed The Sacred Choral Music of Coleridge-Taylor and Robles. I discovered that conducting my own compositions can be thrilling (not just scary!). I couldn’t have been more pleased with the evening. (Photo by Adon Alonzo)
Conducting “Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast” on Sunday August 14 with my Neighborhood Church summer choir and with Katie Eames at the piano was definitely a summer highlight for me. I loved having 3 teenagers in the group!; my own daughter and two Harvard-Westlake students sang with us. It was transformative to perform this work in the context of a church service intended to confront cultural appropriation and center the voices of Native American culture bearers. We look forward to bringing this kind of depth to our performance at Carnegie Hall in March 2023. (Photo by Yolanda Mitchell West)
Composition
Now that this year’s Coleridge-Taylor Celebration has ended, I turn my attention to the four composition commissions I’ve been neglecting over the past two weeks! Thank goodness the deadlines are spread apart over the next six months. Of the four projects, the two multi-movement pieces on which I’m working right now are particularly challenging.
Y’all need to pray for me.
For Fun
A visit the the Broad Museum for the Murakami exhibit was well worth the time spent sitting in traffic on a Thursday night. Plus, I got to go to the sound bath performance that was part of the exhibit on the 2nd floor of the museum – so refreshing, so resonant, so cool!
Ollie’s corner
Ollie’s official headshot for August, and Ollie diving into his new job, guarding the clean laundry:
From April 7- 9, I enjoyed 3 days of intensely satisfying work conducting the New Hampshire All-State High School Treble Choir. With challenging music by J.S. Bach, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Rosephanye Powell, Saunder Choi, and yours truly, we worked our butts off!
There was bonding, there were tears, there was laughter. We told each other our stories and let our music-making glue us together. Every piece we practiced became a precious gem. And in the brief span of less than two days, these young singers sang with such passion and nuance. I couldn’t be more proud of our work together. Working with collaborative keyboardist Molly Lozeau was an honor and a delight! And I am grateful to Will Gunn, Sarah Evans, Emma Forest, Dan Perkins, and everyone at NHMEA for making me feel welcome and trusting me with those precious treble voices.
Composition
Here’s a really cool NPR interview with Dr. William Culverhouse who conducted the premiere of my complete Mass in E minor with the Southern Tier Singers’ Collective at St. Patrick’s Church on Sunday, April 24. In Binghamton, NY.
Thursday, April 28 @ 7:30pm Harvard-Westlake Spring Choral Concert Featuring Wolverine Chorus, Bel Canto, Chamber Singers, and Jazz Singers Zanaida conducts her piece “She Lingers On” with the HW Dance Ensemble performing “There” choreographed by HW Dance instructor Queala Clancy
Sunday, May 1 @ 11:30am Zanaida conducts “Jubilate Deo” by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Neighborhood Chorus is joined by guest organist James Walker and members of the Donald Brinegar Singers and Pasadena Pro Musica.
and…
It’s official! I’m conducting “Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast” at Carnegie Hall on Tuesday, March 28, 2023. On that same concert, Sandra Snow will conduct the premiere a new work I’ve been commissioned to compose by National Concerts.
The California State Music Education Conference last week (CASMEC) was an important reminder that I need to see “my people” periodically. I needed to show up, not just to be seen, but to serve. I needed to listen. I needed a place to tell my story. I needed deep hugs from colleagues, some of whom I’d only ever met on Zoom. I needed to hear how much a few college choral music students really like my music; I needed to notice that I actually have a little fan club! I needed time to myself, away from home. I needed to eat a delicious meal with friends. And I needed to be inspired and challenged over and over again by the conference choir performances. In short, I needed some “soul” food. Can’t wait for more at the ACDA Western Division Conference in Long Beach, CA March 2-5. See more about both as we continue below…
Memories from CASMEC
Composition
Commission inquiries are pouring in!
At the forefront of my mind are commissions for a multi-movement work for SATB chorus and chamber orchestra and another multi-movement work for treble chorus and piano. I’m reading tons of poetry including works by Amanda Gorman, Rhina Espaillat, and Eve L. Ewing. I’m working on a few short instrumental works in preparation for larger works to come. There’s so much to write!!
Performances at ACDA
My works “No Fairy Tale Here” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing” are both being performed TWICE! during the ACDA Western Division Conference, March 2-5: On Thursday 3/3 at 5pm, catch the San Jose State Choraliers performing the world premiere of the SATB/strings version of “No Fairy Tale Here.” And the SSA/piano version of “No Fairy Tale Here” will be performed by the Northern Arizona University Women’s Chorale at 8:30am on Friday, 3/4. The CSULB Bob Cole Chamber Choir will sing my arrangement of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” during their 8pm performance on Wednesday, 3/2. And on Friday, 3/4 at 8pm, I’ll be singing the solo on that same arrangement of mine for the All-Conference Sing. Plus, my setting of “Veni Sancte Spiritus” will be presented in a reading session with one of my USC teachers, Dr. Jo-Michael Scheibe.
Presenting at ACDA
On Thursday, March 3 at 1:30pm, I’m presenting a session with my friend and fellow composer Dale Trumbore called “Come Together: Fostering Meaningful Collaborations between Composers and Conductors“. And on Friday, March 4 at 1pm, I’m participating in a panel discussion on “Writing for the Voices You Have: Composing for Middle School, High School, 2-year College, and Church Choirs“.
