Category: Uncategorized

Happy Black History and Futures Month! 

Part of my celebration this month included buying myself a coloring book written by my friend Shelly Edwards.

Get yours on Amazon

Conducting

Reporting from Redlands

I conducted my piece “The Summit is Nigh” along with “Bogoroditse Devo” by Rachmaninoff and “Pal-So-Song” by Hyo-Won Woo at the University of Redlands High School Choir festival on Friday February 20. I’m so proud of my students!

A huge thank-you to Dr. Nicholle Andrews for hosting and to Dr. Hyejung Jun for being our clinician. Many thanks to my friend and collegue (and chaperone extraordinaire) Ms. Bladen for the pic.

And in Arizona…

The legendary Jazz Madrigal Festival in Flagstaff, AZ was pure magic! I was exhausted after adjudicating and doing clinics with 26 choirs over 2 days, but it was some of the most rewarding work I’ve ever done as an educator. Plus I met some of the most amazing educators in the country and even saw a live performance by the New York Voices that blew my mind! Thank you Dr. Ryan Holder, Dr. Tim Westerhaus, and the wonderful students of Northern Arizona University for inviting me and making me feel welcomed. I hope to do more of this kind of work in the future. 

Will I see you in San Jose in March?

Learn about the conference

Oh yeah… a little save the date…

Singing

On Tuesday January 26, I got to sing with a bunch of incredble artists, including fellow LACHSA alumnus Prez Blackmon during the Education Through Music-LA Awards Gala honoring legendary song writer Diane Warren.

For Fun

I borrowed my daughter’s shoes for the ETM-LA gala. They were fabulous!
Cat won’t let me leave.
New Favorite Spot in Arroyo Seco Park, Pasadena.

Honoring history, listening forward.

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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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Historical black-and-white illustration of a woman with braided hair wearing a shawl and bow at the collar.

News From Zanaida: October 2025 Newsletter

Still celebrating Frances Ellen Watkins Harper

My good friend and colleague at Harvard-Westlake Jen Bladen wrote an amazing blog entry about my high school treble choir’s visit to Neighborhood UU Church Pasadena for our Francis Elken Watkins Harper bicentennial celebration last month. Check it out here

Celebrating the ZSR Singers

The success of the ZSR Singers Summer Choral Intensive inspired the official formation of a new non-profit organization. With help from our wonderfully supportive new board of directors and council of advisors, the ZSR Singers strives to create intergenerational artistic experiences, inspiring and cultivating cultural, intellectual, and spiritual engagement through choral music. This mission guides us to seek new and meaningful ways to deepen our engagement with the community. And as we continue to grow, we invite you to stay tuned—there’s some exciting news on the horizon!

Just announced!

I am pleased to have accepted a position as an composition instructor with the International Choral Composers Institute for summer 2026. Learn more about this amazing program by clicking this button: 

ICCI Website

Conductions & Composition

I’m conducting Neighborhood UU Chorus in a performance of my arrangement of Sage Bond’s Truth in early November! Additionally, on that day, I’m conducting There Will Be Stars by Frank Ticheli and Hold On by Jester Hairston

Sunday, November 9, 10am
Neighborhood UU Church, Pasadena
Map & Directions

For Fun

Fall trip to see my bestie Debby in Cleveland and Akron, OH.  (Also, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame!)
October selfies: hooray for new clothes!
Huge, creepy dragon fly outside my front door
Seasonal decor – the spiders are back!
Archie on my pillow, surprised and dismayed I returned from Ohio

What are you celebrating?

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Hand with bright yellow nails touching the massive roots of a large old tree, looking upward into its branches.

(Very) Big Tree

Last week I had to get up early for a routine medical check-up in Glendora, not far from my home. Across the street from the medical office is a small park called Big Tree Bicentennial Park. It may be one of the smallest parks around, but it is home to one of the most enormous trees in the whole country! 

Majestic old tree with sprawling roots at Big Tree Bicentennial Park, featuring a commemorative plaque on a stone.

According to the City of Glendora’s website, “The ‘Big Tree’ was planted in the late 1880’s by Mr. Edgar J. Owens, one of Glendora’s early residents. The tree’s botanical name “Ficus Mactophylla” is commonly called Moreton Bay Fig and is named after the Moreton Bay Region of Australia where the species grows naturally.  The tree is known for its large buttress roots, helping it reach approximately 99 feet tall and 47 feet in diameter.”

Perplexity AI sources also say the tree’s extensive roots reportedly reach over 1,200 feet across the 15,000-square-foot park.

Big Tree Park in Glendora, California, with the historic tree and entrance sign visible in the foreground.
Historic plaque describing the Big Tree in Glendora, a Moreton Bay Fig planted in the late 1880s by Edgar J. Owens.

Several years ago, when I first drove by it, I had to stop the car and back up because I couldn’t believe my eyes. So this time, instead of just driving by, and since I had some extra time before work, I decided to park my car, get out, and touch its massive roots. It was so healing and spiritual, majestic and beautiful. If you’ve never seen it, I hope you get a chance to look up Big Tree Park in Glendora and check out this magnificent tree.

Conducting

On Sunday September 21, I had the enormous pleasure of conducting Bel Canto, my high school treble choir from Harvard-Westlake, as the featured guest artists at the Neighborhood UU Church Pasadena 10am service celebrating the bicentennial of the birth of Francis Ellen Watkins Harper: an early Unitarian Universalist Black American writer, abolitionist, suffragist, poet, and teacher. Bel Canto sang The Crocuses by Joanna Mills and Songs for the People by Rosephanye Powell – two works featuring texts by Harper, who was born on November 24, 1825. I also conducted the Neighborhood Chorus on I Thank Thee by Demetrius Robinson with lyrics adapted from a letter Harper wrote to Harriet Beecher Stowe in appreciation of Stowe’s ground-breaking novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The entire service was an extraordinary blend of education, deep spirituality, transformative social justice work, and beautiful artistic expression. Here’s the service, which was live-streamed on Youtube:

Composition

Zanaida holding sheet music titled The Song of Significance by Zanaida Stewart Robles with text by Seth Godin, published by Hinshaw Music

The Song of Significance, the piece I wrote for the LA Master Chorale, is finally here! I jumped for joy when my printed copies arrived in the mail this week.

Open sheet music of The Song of Significance by Zanaida Stewart Robles with text by Seth Godin, showing score and composer biography.
Final page of sheet music for The Song of Significance by Zanaida Stewart Robles, published by Hinshaw Music and Hal Leonard
Learn More
Yummy crawfish boil with my Mommy
Celebrating the start of a new school year with my Harvard-Westlake friends

THREE STAGES OF OLLIE:

(Above…)
Boxed Ollie 
Ollie Disapproving of My Favorite Shoes
Ollie Demands Justice

Wishing you a spectacular fall!

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Choir performance in a church sanctuary: conductor on podium as audience applauds; singers in red stoles under a pipe organ.

August 2025 Newsletter

ZSR Singers

August 10, 2025 marked the 3rd annual Zanaida Stewart Robles Singers Choral Intensive culminating performance during the 10am service at Neighborhood UU Church. Our performance of selection from Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana was one of my favorite church performances of all time! Here’s a link to the video – it’ll make you smile! Also, Felicity’s solo on “Dulcissime” toward the end of the service is just beautiful! 

Composition

Photo: Marielle Hayes Photography

Photo:  Marielle Hayes Photography

I’m so happy to have finished arranging Veni Sancte Spiritus for SSAA voices. Many thanks to Eric Tuan and the Piedmont East Bay Childrens Chorus commisdioning this work. They will premiere it on their “Making History” Concert on Saturday, March 21, 2026 in Berkeley, CA. The SSAA version of Veni Sancte Spiritus will be published in summer 2026.

Learn More About PEBCC

Conducting

My teacher and mentor Dr. Cristian Grases (pictured above left), chair of the Department of Choral and Sacred Music at USC, will play the cuatro with me as I conduct a performance of “Gloria” and “Sanctus” from Misa Criolla by Ariel Ramirez (above right) in celebration of Ingathering at Neighborhood UU Church on Sunday, September 7 at 10am. I am thrilled for our community to be blessed by Dr. Grases’s expertise in the field of Latin American choral music.

Not familiar with the cuatro?  A lovely example of this guitar-like Venezuelan instrument is pictured above, as held by Smithsonian Music.

For Fun

Summer Vibes
LA Master Chorale Artistic Director Grant Gershon imparting Carmina Burana wisdom to the ZSR Singers
Being able to cue up my own music on Spotify in my car is a dream come true!
Cats = love

Hope your summer is wrapping up beautifully!

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