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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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News from Zanaida: July 2025 Newsletter

Moonlight, Live

As you know, I serve as Director of Music at Neighborhood UU Church in Pasadena, CA. Before church service began on July 13, my friend, church keyboardist and Associate Music Director Wells Leng (pictured) was playing the piano as usual. Since Debussy’s Clair de Lune (“Moonlight”) was scheduled as the prelude, Wells casually played through a few spots in the Debussy as they were preparing for the service to start. My mind was in a million other places, and I was having a tough morning due to concerns about, you know, the usual or whatever. The service began with announcements as usual. The welcome words cue the keyboardist to start the prelude.

On cue, Wells startled me with the way their posture transformed. As if they were summoning some sort of ancient, otherworldly power, they straightened their back with what seemed like intense reverence and slowly lifted their hands to play.

You know that scene from the movie Ratatouille, when the food critic is dramatically transported to his childhood with the first bite of that scrumptious meal? That was how dramatically moving the first three notes of this performance of Clair de Lune were for me.

Also, I realized something extraordinary:  I had never heard the piece played live.

In Wells’s hands, it was like hearing it in 3D – one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard in my life. I’m sure the combination of pressures at home and worry for the world and childhood nostalgia and peri-menopausal hormones were all at work. But something in me broke while I listened to Wells play Clair de Lune. I have never wept in church like I wept when they played that piece that morning.

It was the best part of my whole day.

Conducting

What was that, Carl?

The Zanaida Stewart Robles Singers Summer Choir Intensive starts in less than 2 weeks! I can’t wait to dive into Carmina Burana with our singers, anticipating how powerful it will be to perform it during the 10am Sunday morning service at Neighborhood UU Church Pasadena on August 10. In the meantime, I offer you a link to my favorite “misheard lyrics” version of the famous “O Fortuna” chorus. 

Here’s “Oh Four Tuna”:

Singing

During church on July 20, I dusted off my French art song chops and sang Villanelle by Eva Dell’Acqua and Chanson Triste by Henry Duparc. I made some mistakes, but I had fun and it felt good to explore those melodies again. Also, making music with pianist Dr. Katie Eames is always a special treat! Here’s a link to a video of the service. My songs happen around 18:30 and 25:30.

Composition

My piece, Veni Sancte Spiritus, continues to strike a chord with choirs all over the country. Many thanks to Kaleb Hilton and the choir of Kentucky Governor School for the Arts for learning this piece and inviting me to Zoom with them in preparation for their performance. Check out this piece and more on my album of sacred choral works titled Ecstatic Expectancy.

Listen on Spotify
Purchase on Amazon

For Fun

Playing instrumental music with my friend and fellow singer Dabney Ross Jones was a blast!

Anyone else want to play music with me just for fun? Let me know.

First Cherry Cobbler

My first cherry cobbler turned out perfectly.

Kayaking

Yay, kayaking time!

Archie: “Can’t you find another way down?”

Ollie the Angel

Ollie – the angel of tripping hazzards.

Keep in touch!

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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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Tips for Living with Social Media

3 Strikes

When scrolling, try closing the app and walking away after three irritating posts. Three strikes, I’m out!

Limits

I set a timer for the period of time of my choice. Or, I might commit to only scrolling past 20 posts, or 10 posts, or however many I deem appropriate for my needs at the moment. I’m better when I’m mindful about my time.

Healthy Scrolling

Here are several pages/people that keep me healthy and happy while scrolling on my socials. I try to visit 5-10 of these each day (unless the three-strikes law thwarts my efforts). I like to think it improves my algorithm, too. I also regularly add to, subtract from, and change up this list:

  • Some facet of the American Choral Directors Association
  • Black and Obsessed with K-Dramas
  • Rhythms of the Village Productions (Altadena, CA)
  • A family member or friend whose political views differ from mine but whose life and work I deeply respect.
  • The Zanaida Stewart Robles Singers
  • Neighborhood UU Church or some other spiritual/religious institution to which I’m connected.
  • Harvard-Westlake School or some other educational institution to which I’m connected.
  • An award-winning performing artist or visual artist 
  • Duolingo
  • An award-winning athlete
  • A family member or friend that I absolutely adore

Upcoming Events

Live in the Lounge: HERS Music Ensemble

The Ebell of LA is proud to present to you a curated voice salon featuring the works of Los Angeles women composers by Hers: Music Ensemble, a newly formed group dedicated to the empowerment and uplifting of musical artists who identify as female. For this special evening at The Ebell, award-winning vocalists Karen Hogle Brown and Tamara Bevard will present vocal selections by celebrated LA composers including Reena Esmail, Zanaida Robles, Dale Trumbore and many more.

Join us for a curated voice salon that will celebrate the amazing creations of musical art happening right in our own beloved city.

Tuesday, March 4, 2025
7:30 PM

Info and Tickets

For Fun

Fun times in Louisville as Guest Conductor for the Kentucky Music Educators Association SSAA All-State Honor Choir.

New haircut with cool African coat and earrings

Ollie warning me never to travel again

Finally saw the movie “Wicked.” I loved it!
Also, I’m in the credits!…

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”

— Anne Lamott

View the original newsletter for February 2025 online

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Resolution

This year, I resolve to intentionally explore physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional health as I strive to be a source of light for the people to whom I’m connected. May your heart, body, mind, and spirit be blessed this new year and always.

Heart

Tuesday, January 8 was one of the scariest nights of my life, as extremely high winds battered our homes. My heart raced all night as the wind whipped up a fire that destroyed several towns, including the nearby town of Altadena. The power went out as the wind loudly tore over our house like a rampaging animal. From my dark bedroom window, I saw flames on the hillside, swiftly advancing over the brush. Every violent wind gust pushed the fires closer; the hills were consumed by flames. I remember praying out loud, pleading for the wind to stop. The fire raged on even as the winds died down and shifted away from us. And while I’m grateful my home and family are safe, the damage to our beautiful city was vast and brutal. I am heartbroken over the loss of my friends’ homes, schools, and churches. So much that was irreplaceable was destroyed. The kindness and generosity of strangers is what gives me hope in times like these. May hope continue to thrive as we help each other find the way back to wholeness.

Body

This past fall I began a journey to improve my health. I constantly felt heavy, tired, and in pain. In addition to various doctor visits and treatment plans for specific issues, I decided to download and use an app to help me track what I eat. It wasn’t that my eating habits were so bad; it’s that they weren’t in alignment with my nutrition goals. The app helps me to be accountable to myself regarding my goals – sometimes I hate that! When I feel overlooked or underappreciated, I want a treat or a reward or an edible comfort. The app affirms my effort, reminds me to stay on track, and helps me get back on when I’ve fallen off. A helpful tool can make a real difference.

Composition

Psalm 61: Hear My Cry

Hear my cry, O God, and listen to my prayer. I call upon you from the ends of the earth with heaviness in my heart. Set me upon the rock that is higher than I.

Listen here

For Fun

I watched football, ate fried catfish, and created art with my beloved mentor Paul Smith. He taught me a new art technique using paint on tile. I made a “Z,” of course!
A multitude of holidays
Felicity is learning to drive.
A note I found from Santa on Christmas morning
Archie is not modest.
The new heated cat bed is a hit!

May your new year contain more joy than sorrow.

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