Author: Zanaida

Finding home

On Saturday, April 28 at 7:30pm, I will direct a spring choral concert with the Harvard-Westlake Choirs entitled “I Will Arise.” Joined by composer, singer-songwriter, and folk music expert Shawn Kirchner, we explore the musical intersections between Scotch-Irish, Appalachian, and Black American cultures as we consider what it means to find home within ourselves when circumstances drive us far away from the physical homes we know and love. We learn what enables us to rise and redefine what the word “home” can mean and where home can exist. And we discover what binds us together in our search for that home, that longed-for place of simple beauty and peace and timelessness that frees us from despair, loss, and pain. We consider the colorful poetry of 19th century Irish poet William Butler Yeats as he describes his desire to go to such a place:

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet’s wings.I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.

– “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” by William Butler Yeats

A Letter to the Singers of the Los Angeles Master Chorale

Dear Best Singers on the Planet,

I’ve been thinking about this for months and months and months. This is hard. I’m writing to let you know that I have decided not to return to LAMC. I have loved singing with you more than you know. But it’s impossible for me to commit to the group and maintain my full-time work as a teacher (and a mom) along with my part-time work as a music minister, composer, clinician, and arts activist. I am deeply grateful to LAMC for the many amazing opportunities I’ve had to make music with the most talented musical artists on earth. I hope I’ll still have a chance to sing with you from time to time on short-term projects around town. Great things appear to be on the horizon for you all. I can’t wait to see how it all unfolds. I’ll be watching from the audience.

Love and hugs to everyone,
Zanaida

Oh, Canada!

The Harvard-Westlake Canadian Choir Tour of 2018 was a great success! Not only did we survive the cold, but we sang well and we had fun. It was wonderful to work with Dr. Jean-Sébastien Vallée at McGill University in Montreal. And Quebec City is definitely on my list of special places to which I hope to return someday.
The townsfolk who attended our concert at the the church of Cap-Santé, were as loving and as generous as they could possibly be. We felt deeply appreciated, especially after our encore performance of Kurt Carr‘s “In the Sanctuary,” when one boisterous Canadian with a handlebar moustache shouted,
“You all make America great again!”

Chicken + friendship = gratitude

Just now, they were out of rotisserie chicken at the store. Another woman was also looking for chicken. When all we found where the chicken should be was some sad-looking overpriced meatloaf, we wished each other luck and I thought about getting the meatloaf. I was about to give up and leave when I heard her say, “Hey! They’re packing up fresh chickens right now!” I hurried over. As the deli staff handed us both our hot ‘n ready chickens, I thanked my fellow shopper for getting my attention before I walked out. Then she said, “Friends don’t let friends buy the meatloaf.”

Chicken in hand, I walked outside in the pouring rain, and that’s when it all hit me like a ton of bricks:

Rev. Zelda is gone.
Violence is real.
Diseases are devastating.
Division is everywhere.
Depression/anxiety is such a draining condition.
I can’t help everyone. Sometimes I can’t help anyone.
I can’t even help myself!

Rain is pouring everywhere. Tears blur my vision. Walking in this wet parking lot, I feel tiny and vulnerable and at the mercy of the universe. And I’m embarrassed because I know people can see me. Worse, they might even hear me sniffling. Thank God for that person who treated me like a friend. Her presence and her simple, funny, friendly words gave me hope that things could be ok.

I’m back in my car. My chicken got a little wet. But I’m ok, thank God. Thank God for this warm dry car and this chicken. Thank God for that friendly woman, and for our beloved Rev. Zelda…; thank God for meds, for friends, for children, for music, and for the rain. Oh how we need this rain.

 

[Adapted from an earlier Facebook post]

Tonality

I’m so excited to announce that I’ve accepted an invitation to be on the board of directors for the incredible new choral group, “Tonality.”

Tonality promotes peace, unity and social justice through choral music performance in Los Angeles. I’ve sung with this group myself, and am blown away by their director Alexander Lloyd Blake. Alex is a fellow USC Trojan!, and I am so proud to support their incredible work.

As a Christmas meditation, please read Ian Perry Walker‘s review of Tonality’s December 2 performance of Stories of Home: A Tonality Holiday Concert:


Tonality’s next performance is a reprise of their “Put Your Guns Down” concert, on Sunday, January 7 at 7pm, at First Congregational Church of Los Angeles. Admission is free!

I’ll be there, and I hope you’ll come, too. If you can’t make it, please consider making a year-end gift to support the dynamic work of this organization. Go to their Fractured Atlas page to make a donation.

Merry Christmas.
Zanaida