Sacred Choral Music of Coleridge-Taylor and Robles
2022-08-12 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Neighborhood Church, 301 N Orange Grove Blvd, Pasadena, CA, 90041, United States
The Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Celebration, held in honor of the composer’s 147th birthday, will feature two special performances showcasing the Black-English composer’s sacred choral music, and his masterpiece Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast. Curated and conducted by Artistic Director Dr. Zanaida Robles, “Sacred Choral Music of Coleridge-Taylor and Robles” will take place Friday, August 12 at 7 p.m.; “Music Sunday! Church Service featuring Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast” will take place Sunday, August 14 at 10 a.m. Both events will be held at the Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church in Pasadena.
The “Sacred Choral Music of Coleridge-Taylor and Robles” program features a cross section of sacred works, including two settings of Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis by Coleridge-Taylor and Robles, and Robles’ Ecstatic Expectancy with percussionist Dave Tull, which blends classical choral music with rock improvisation.
“Music Sunday! Church Service featuring Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast” includes music by Native American composers set alongside Coleridge-Taylor’s multi-cultural fusion of Native American legend, classic American poetry, and English late-Romantic music. The text for Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast comes from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s 1885 poem, The Song of Hiawatha. While there is much to criticize about his blatant appropriation and flagrant alteration of several aspects of Native American culture, Longfellow made what he believed was a genuine attempt to honor indigenous heritage by writing his epic poem based on Henry Schoolcraft’s transcription of the orally transmitted stories told by Schoolcraft’s Ojibway wife, Jane. Despite its inaccuracies and problematic nature, Longfellow’s alluring yet misguided work helped to dramatically increase national awareness and preservation of Native American culture. The history of the Hiawatha legend and its storytellers is complex, and performing Coleridge-Taylor’s musical setting of a small portion of this story is an opportunity to clarify and correct the narrative by centering the stories, artistry, and experiences of indigenous Americans.

“Researching the life and work of Coleridge-Taylor has been an eye-opening experience ever since I first discovered his music as an undergraduate student in vocal performance,” said Robles. “It is a privilege and joy to present this celebration, which is part of a larger commitment to expand the choral canon and uplift underrepresented voices, including Indigenous artists and composers.”

The Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Celebration is the first of several stops on the road to Carnegie Hall, where the Harvard-Westlake Choirs and Orchestra from Southern California will perform Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast, conducted by Robles, and presented by National Concerts. The work was last performed at Carnegie Hall in 1915 as part of a “Concert of Negro Music” conducted by renowned conductor/composer J. Rosamund Johnson (the same who composed “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing”).
Coleridge-Taylor’s most celebrated work, Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast is a shining example of his command of musical form, texture, harmony, and orchestration, which resulted in overnight fame and respect among colleagues that few men of color could have hoped to enjoy in the early twentieth century. Because of his incredible success in a field dominated by white males at a time when racism in America was peaking, Coleridge-Taylor’s influence on Black artists and intellectuals was powerful and far-reaching. It is regrettable that such a monumental work declined into virtual obscurity after Coleridge-Taylor’s death at the young age of 37 in 1912. But these performances shine light on this important work by a composer who still inspires the American musical community, just as he did a century ago.

Music Sunday! Church Service featuring Hiawatha's Wedding Feast
2022-08-14 10:00 - 23:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Neighborhood Church, 301 N Orange Grove Blvd, Pasadena, CA, 90041, United States

"One True Joy" Choir Concert
2022-12-01 20:00 - 22:00, 2022-12-03 20:00 - 22:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | St. Mary’s College Chapel, De La Salle Dr, Moraga, CA, 94556, United States
December 1 & 3 @ 8:00 p.m
FREE, contributions welcome:
STMARYS-CA.EDU/CHOIRGIVES
This concert features Glee, Chamber and Jazz Singers sharing beloved classics (by Lassus, Byrd, and Dello Joio) and lesser known but fabulous pieces by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Carlos Chavéz, Buddy Johnson, Billie Holiday, André Thomas, and Zanaida Robles. The not-to-be-missed concert will also showcase Zoe McCray’s new arrangement of Beyoncé’s Pretty Hurts, holiday carol-singing, and soul-stirring jazz and sacred works by Bay Area composer Greg Murai.
Masks are required. Please bring your own.
Parking is available to the left of the entrance gate for 50 cents/hour at the Visitors’ parking kiosk via credit card only.

"Lady in Blue" in Tonality concert
2022-12-04 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Olive Rehearsal Hall — The Colburn School, 200 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA, 90012, United States
Tonality performs my composition Lady in Blue as part of their concert called “Right to Heal,” which takes a broad look at healthcare and its inequalities:

“This concert will take a broad look at healthcare and its inequalities. From the treatment of healthcare workers and the need for care for our LGBTQ community to the conversation around reproductive health, these selections will focus on the rights as human beings to receive medical assistance in a more justified process.”

Get tickets here

World premiere -- 'Guidelines'
2022-12-10 19:30 - 21:30, 2022-12-11 14:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | Belleville Congregtional Church – Newburyport, MA, 300 High St, Newburyport, MA, 01950, United States
SATURDAY, December 10 at 7:30pm
SUNDAY December 11 at 2pm
Belleville Congregational Church, Newburyport, MA
The Newburyport Choral Society presents the world premiere of my composition Guidelines as part of their winter concert called “In Terra Pax.” Guidelines is a commissioned setting of the poetry of Newburyport poet Rhina Espaillat.

Brightest and Best: A Christmas benefit
2022-12-16 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Neighborhood Church, 301 N Orange Grove Blvd, Pasadena, CA, 90041, United States
Come hear music that will get you in the holiday spirit and support our church choir’s trip to sing Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast with Zanaida at Carnegie Hall! Featuring Christmas favorites such as Star in the East, The Christmas Song, Carol of the Bells, and sing-along favorites, plus a sample of the music to be performed at Carnegie Hall on our tour!
Soloists include Miriam Adhanom, Adrian Bañuelos, Michael Fausto, Carla Jaime Perez, Cesáreo Pérez and Zanaida Robles, with pianist Wells Lang. Suggested donation $20, Or use the QR code to support the trip even if you can’t attend the concert!

Sleeping Choral Giant: Rediscovering the Works of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
2023-02-22 | Duke Energy Convention Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States

Humanity: A Musical Exploration of the Human Experience
2023-03-10 19:30 (America/Vancouver) | Pacific Spirit United Church, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Presented by Elektra Women’s Choir — Read more here
Elektra Women’s Choir is presenting Humanity: A Musical Exploration of the Human Experience on March 10 at 7:30 pm at the Pacific Spirit United Church.
The 40-voice choir—led by artistic director Morna Edmundson—will take a deep dive into an exploration of despair, hope, love, solidarity, and boldness alongside pianist Stephen Smith. The evening features a lineup of music from Zanaida Robles, Claudio Monteverdi, Marie-Claire Saindon, Libby Larsen, and more, with a focus on recent works by Canadian composer Laura Hawley.
Commissioned pieces that will be performed include “The Secret Wisdom of Flowers” by Hawley, and “Ya Amar (The Moon)” by Toronto-based Palestinian-Jordanian composer Natalie Fasheh,
The students of Elektra’s Mira Youth Mentorship program are also set to join the choir for part of the concert. The program, which is open to sopranos and altos in their final years of high school, was created to encourage students to develop their love of choral singing and build vocal skills alongside Elektra Women’s Choir.
Throughout the concert, to enrich the listening experience of the audience, there will be large-screen projections of photographs by South Hazelton photographer Elizabeth Larsen.
“Elizabeth has a wonderful ability to capture the spirit of a spontaneous moment,” says Edmundson. “Concert-goers will see through her lens people and communities of Northwest B.C. as well as the region’s breathtaking natural beauty.”
In the video interview below produced by her son Elijah, Larsen shares that some of the photos selected for the concert were chosen by Edmundson and herself. They are a collection of her archive and gallery shots that show children, couples, marriages, and other tender moments of emotion.
A collection of Larsen’s printed photographs will also be on display at the concert venue before and after the show.
Tickets for the show can be purchased through Elektra and more information about the show can also be found on their website.

Made in LA: Identity and Belonging in Los Angeles
2023-03-11 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, 540 S Commonwealth Ave., Los Angeles, CA, 90020, United States
From Vox Femina Los Angeles
Saturday, March 11 at 7PM
First Congregational Church of Los Angeles

Tickets

Join us as we celebrate the many cultures and communities that define our “City of Angels!” Explore the unique soundscape created by the diverse communities of Los Angeles and enjoy music in English, Spanish, Hebrew, and Farsi, honoring the eclectic populations of the city. Featuring new works by LA-based composers Zanaida Stewart Robles, and Saunder Choi, plus a collaboration with GMCLA a cappella group Aftershock!

Conducting and premiere at Carnegie Hall
2023-03-28 | Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Ave, New York, NY, 10019, United States
Zanaida conducts “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.
Learn more and get tickets here

LAMC Gala 2023
2023-04-14 18:00 - 23:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90012, United States
From the Los Angeles Master Chorale:
FRIDAY, APRIL 14, 2023
WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL
6 PM — RECEPTION
7 PM — CONCERT
8 PM — DINNER
BUY TICKETS
GALA 2023 will feature the Los Angeles Master Chorale in a one-night-only concert event that highlights Germaine Franco’s distinctive musical achievements and influences, with newly-commissioned arrangements created specifically for this program and heard for the first time. Franco will join the Chorale on stage to perform on percussion, alongside a 17-member orchestra. Special guest soloists include sought-after live and session vocalist Toni Scruggs and emerging young talent Danny Duran. Conducted by Grant Gershon, Kiki & David Gindler Artistic Director, and Jenny Wong, Associate Artistic Director, this landmark concert will also spotlight music that makes L.A. culture so unique, including works by Zanaida Robles, Carlos Guastavino, Antonio Estévez and Otilio Galíndez. The program will open with the Chorale’s legendary Surround Sing, with voices enveloping the audience from the highest reaches of Walt Disney Concert Hall, an experience that Alex Ross, writing in The New Yorker, recently described as “shiver-inducing”.

ARTISTIC HONOREE
GERMAINE FRANCO is an Oscar-nominated composer, music producer, percussionist and educator who combines her passion for music with her technical and orchestral expertise across a multitude of projects. Franco is the first woman to score a Disney animated feature film with 2021’s Encanto, for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score, an SCL Award for Outstanding Original Score, an Annie Award for Best Music in a Feature, a Grammy Award win for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media (including Film and Television) and a Billboard Music Award for Best Soundtrack.
Germaine co-wrote and produced five of Coco’s six original songs with co-director, Adrian Molina, including “Un Poco Loco” and “Proud Corazón”, and provided additional music. In 2018, Univision celebrated her work as one of “15 Latinas Who Are Changing The World As We Know It,” alongside Rita Moreno and Emma Gonzalez. Franco is an advocate of music education and serves on the Advisory Board for Women In Media and The Neighborhood Music School.
Germaine’s work is heard in concert halls around the world including the Walt Disney Concert Hall with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the Puerto Rico Symphony, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Philharmonic, among others. Franco holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Music from the Rice Shepherd School of Music.

PHILANTHROPIC HONOREE

The LA Arts Recovery Fund was created to provide support to small and mid-sized nonprofit arts and cultural organizations in LA County as they rebuild and re-imagine a new path forward, providing grants and resources to assist with long-term recovery. In 2021, after raising over $40 million from more than 25 local and national contributors, the Fund awarded 90 organizations unrestricted, multi-year general operating support grants. The nonprofit grant recipients span visual arts, theater, music, dance, literary arts, and arts education and demonstrate exceptional regional and local significance in LA County.

USC Thornton Chamber Singers
2023-04-23 08:00 - 17:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | All Saints Episcopal Church Pasadena, 132 N. Euclid Ave., Pasadena, CA, 91101, United States
The USC Chamber Singers will return to All Saints Church with a performance of the stunning Fauré Requiem, featuring Dr. Weicheng Zhao at the organ. This summer, Dr. Tram Sparks, Department of Choral and Sacred Music Chair and Conductor of the Chamber Singers, will headline a festival performance of the piece this June at Carnegie Hall in New York City with the USC Chamber Singers and several choruses from across the country. Come hear the ensemble’s solo performance of this masterwork! Coupled with the Fauré are other works by modern composers, especially Dr. Zanaida Robles, one of All Saints’ soloists for more than a decade. Other works by composers will be featured including USC’s own choral professor Nick Strimple, Los Angeles natives Shawn Kirchner and Moira Smiley, DMA Choral Music student and member of the ensemble Duncan Toumi, and Roderick Williams.

Orlando Sings
2023-05-18 19:30 - 22:00 (America/New_York) | First United Methodist Church of Orlando, 142 E Jackson St, Orlando, FL, 32801, United States
Join us for the first concert of the Orlando Sings Choral Festival 2023 featuring composers Margaret Bonds and André Thomas. The new Orlando Senior Singers will make their festival debut as they open the concert. Harmonia then will sing a powerful set by composers Marques Garrett, Zanaida Robles, Rosephyane Powell, and Jeffery Ames. Then the OS Symphonic Chorus takes the stage to perform Margaret Bonds’ Credo, a setting of W. E. B. Du Bois’ prose poem in which he declares his philosophy of racial equality. This will be conducted by Chevalier Lovett in his Orlando Sings debut. Subtitled “A Celebration of Love and Joy,” the gospel-style mass of André J. Thomas with piano, drums, and bass guitar will uplift and inspire.
Read more at VisitOrlando.com
Go to the festival website

Summer Choral Intensive
2023-08-07 - 2023-08-13 | Neighborhood Church, 301 N Orange Grove Blvd, Pasadena, CA, 90041, United States
Register here

World premiere of 'From the Stone Age'
2023-11-19 15:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | Church of the Holy Apostles, 296 9th Avenue, New York, NY, 10001, United States
Melodia Women’s Choir In Concert

Fall 2023 Concert
The Circle Never Ends
Sunday, November 19 at 3:00PM

Featuring the world premiere of commissioned work by Zanaida Robles, From the Stone Age, a rare performance of Amy Beach’s epic work The Chambered Nautilus, and music about life, love and truth.
Conducted by Cynthia Powell
With Allison Sniffin, piano; Francesca Ferrera, flute; and Jules Biber, cello
Program
From the Stone Age – Zanaida Robles, world premiere, Melodia commission
The Chambered Nautilus, Op. 66 – Amy Beach
Will the Circle Be Unbroken? – Traditional, arr. J. David Moore
Our revels now are ended – Bob Chilcott
as freedom is a breakfastfood – Ron Perera
let me listen – Dan Forrest
All will be well – Will Todd
The Sun Never Says – Dan Forrest
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
Composer, Zanaida Robles, by Kathryn Mueller
Holy Apostles
296 Ninth Avenue, bet W27th & W. 28th Streets, NY, NY 10001
Free virtual concert, Saturday, December 16 at 7pm via YouTube. Register here (required)

Go to the original event page here

Harvard-Westlake Upper School Choir Retreat
2024-09-13 - 2024-09-14
Harvard Westlake Logo

Neighborhood UU Church Pasadena - Youth Choir
2024-10-06 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Neighborhood Church, 301 N Orange Grove Blvd, Pasadena, CA, 90041, United States
Neighborhood UU Church Pasadena Youth Choir
10am Service Featuring the Neighborhood UU Church Pasadena Youth Choir, Directed by Zanaida Stewart Robles

Light of Remembrance Ceremony - Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills
2024-12-02
Light of Remembrance Ceremony feat. Harvard-Westlake Chamber Singers
Light of Remembrance Ceremony featuring Harvard Westlake Chamber Singers conducted by Zanaida Stewart Robles
Location: Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills

Upper School Fall Choir Concert
2024-12-05 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Rugby Auditorium, Harvard Westlake Upper School, Studio City, CA, United States
Harvard-Westlake Upper School Fall Choir Concert

Neighborhood Christmas Concert
2024-12-13 19:30 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Neighborhood Church, 301 N Orange Grove Blvd, Pasadena, CA, 90041, United States
Neighborhood UU Church Pasadena Christmas Concert

Neighborhood UU Church Pasadena - Christmas Eve Services
2024-12-24 20:00 - 21:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Neighborhood Church, 301 N Orange Grove Blvd, Pasadena, CA, 90041, United States
Christmas Eve at Neighborhood UU Church
4pm Youth Service
8pm Traditional Service – Music Directed by Zanaida Stewart Robles

Neighborhood UU Church Pasadena
2024-12-29 09:00 - 10:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Neighborhood Church, 301 N Orange Grove Blvd, Pasadena, CA, 90041, United States
Neighborhood UU Church Pasadena – 10am “Kwanzaa” Service
Directed by Zanaida Stewart Robles

Kansas Music Educators Association
2025-02-04 - 2025-02-08
Kansas Music Educators Association SSAA High School All State Honor Choir Clinician

“Limits & Imaginary Lines”: EMU Choir
2025-02-16 00:00 - 2025-03-07 00:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Promotional artwork for ‘Limits & Imaginary Lines’ – a choral performance exploring music beyond boundaries.
“Limits & Imaginary Lines” — EMU Choir Concert Series
February 16, 2025 | 7:00PM – 9:00PM
📍First United Methodist Church of Ypsilanti Sanctuary – 207 Washtenaw Avenue, Ypsilanti
The Eastern Michigan University Choir presents “Limits & Imaginary Lines, “ featuring works by Bach, Edward Bairstow, Ola Gjeilo, Edward Grieg, Moses Ogan, Susan LaBarr, Frank Martin, Marianne Martinez, Owain Park, Uris Praulins, Zanaida Robles, Stravinsky, Thomas Tallis, and Hyo-Won Woo.
This concert is part of the First United Methodist church of Ypsilanti’s year-long bicentennial celebration.
🎟️ FREE Admission
📅 Additional Performances:

Feb. 1 | 2:00 PM – Salem High School, Plymouth
Mar. 4 | 7:00 PM – Saline High School, Saline
Mar. 7 | 7:30 PM – Pease Auditorium, EMU, Ypsilanti

🔗 More Info: tinyurl.com/emu-choir-Feb-Mar-2025

Live in the Lounge: HERS: Music Ensemble Featuring LA-based Women Composers & Singers
2025-03-04
HERS: Music Ensemble

Tuesday, March 4, 2025
7:30 PM

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, musical selections by celebrated LA composers including: Zanaida Robles, Dale Trumbore, Reena Esmail, and MORE will be performed by Award-Winning Vocalist Karen Hogle Brown and Tamara Bevard.
‍Join us for a curated voice salon that will celebrate the amazing creations of musical art happening right in our own beloved city.

For Ticket Information, CLICK HERE

ACDA National Conference - Dallas
2025-03-18 - 2025-03-22
ACDA National Conference—Dallas, TX
World PREMIERE of Zanaida Stewart Robles’s New Work: “The Summit is Nigh” with the 2025 SATB National High School Honor Choir Conducted by Chris Maunu.

Accord Presents: In Her Image (Manhattan Concert)
2025-04-05 19:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York)
Join Accord for “In Her Image,” a stunning concert event featuring powerful and thought-provoking treble choral music that reflects on the many facets of womanhood.
This dynamic program includes a world premiere of “Incantations” by Composer in Residence Stefania de Kenessey, alongside works by celebrated composers Eva Ugalde, Katerina Gimon, Zanaida Robles, Joan Szymko, Libby Larsen, Chen Yi, Sarah Kirkland Snider, and more.
Concert Dates & Locations:
• Manhattan: April 5, 2025
• Brooklyn: April 26, 2025
Don’t miss this unforgettable evening of gorgeous and provocative music that uplifts and explores the female experience.
Tickets:
• Purchase Manhattan Tickets
• Purchase Brooklyn Tickets
We look forward to seeing you there!

Easter Sunday: Norman Dello Joio’s “Jubilant Song”
2025-04-20 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Neighborhood Church, 301 N Orange Grove Blvd, Pasadena, CA, 90041, United States
Celebrate Easter with a “Jubilant Song”!
Join us for a joyful Easter Sunday celebration at Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church in Pasadena, CA, featuring a special musical offering:
🎶 “Jubilant Song” by Norman Dello Joio 🎶
✨ When: Easter Sunday, 10:00 AM (during the service)
✨ Where: Neighborhood UU Church, Pasadena, CA
Lift your spirits with the powerful harmonies and radiant energy of this inspiring piece as we rejoice in renewal, hope, and community. All are welcome—come celebrate with us!
