Organizations and Institutions

There are so many institutions and organizations that are a blessing to my life. Some have been blessing my life for decades! Besides the pride and joy I feel to be employed at Neighborhood UU Church Pasadena and Harvard-Westlake School, I was happy to reconnect with friends in the George Robert Garner III branch of the National Association of Negro Musicians during a recent branch meeting via Zoom. Watching my freshman daughter perform as a soloist during the Beach Cafe at the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at CSULB was thrilling not only because my kid was brilliant (!), but because of all the familiar faces and pathways and buildings I got to enjoy at my alma mater.

This fall, I’ll reconnect with friends from the Los Angeles Master Chorale and the California Choral Directors Association through various projects and performances. Organizations like Tonality, Street Symphony, USC Thornton School of Music, The Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, All Saints Church Pasadena, The San Gabriel Valley Choral Company, and more – these special organizations and institutions with which I’ve been affiliated are never far from my heart.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the ups and downs organizations and institutions must endure. No organization is perfect, and there are times when I feel let down by them. Still, I value the vision and purpose of these institutions. I recognize the ways in which I have benefitted from their existence, and I want to give back. I can’t participate in everything nor do I have a ton of volunteer hours or money. But I’ll try to show up when I can and give a little money here and there whenever possible.

This is how I can live out my gratitude.

Favorites

I recently realized that Dr. Adolphus Hailstork is my favorite Black composer! It feels really good to have fallen in love with this composer simply from just being exposed to his music more and more on the radio and on social media. Dr. Hailstork celebrated his 80th birthday this year! Here’s my current favorite piece of his, sung by one of my favorite ensembles:

Shout For Joy by Adolphus Hailstork:

The release of my first commercial single, “Ecstatic Expectancy”!!

On Monday September 23, my choral piece Ecstatic Expectancy was released on Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Instagram/Facebook, TikTok & other ByteDance stores, YouTube Music, Amazon, Pandora, Deezer, Tidal, iHeartRadio, Claro Música, Saavn, Boomplay, Anghami, NetEase, Tencent, Qobuz, Joox, Kuack Media, Adaptr, Flo, and MediaNet.

Look for Ecstatic Expectancy wherever you listen to music, and let me know where you were able to find it! My first commercially released album is soon to follow, too, so stay tuned!

For Fun

Conducting the Neighborhood Chorus for Ingathering/Water Communion Sunday, September 8

My office at school (for which I am grateful!) sometimes feels like a sad closet with a lame window. So I created some sunshine to brighten it up.

Did you know you can swim, fish, and go kayaking in the Los Angeles River? Last month, I had the best time kayaking on the water in this very picture. Can you imagine me in a kayak, paddling down that sliver of water in this picture!?! I’m planning to go kayaking one more time before LA River Kayak Safari closes for the season on September 30.

Sexy Archie

Ollie looking down on us all

Originally published as part of Zanaida’s September 2024 newsletter

September 25, 2024 Zanaida 0

In spite of it all

I want to write about how thankful I am for all the blessings in my life this year; for my family; for my my work at Harvard Westlake and at Neighborhood Church Pasadena; for Tonality, Street Symphony, NANM; for LAMC and the LA Phil; for studio gigs and creative projects; for doctors and physical therapy; for psychologists, behavior specialists and teachers; for coaches and mentors and besties and colleagues, for sports and beer and video games and trampolines and an abundance of food and music…

But honestly, I’ve been going through some stuff. I’ll be okay, but I’ve been overwhelmed lately. I’ve been worried. I’ve been in pain. And sometimes it’s hard to be generous when we’re in pain or in need. We hoard our time, our money, our food, our space. Or sometimes we act carelessly and with ingratitude when we give and give and give at the expense of taking care of our own complex needs. We give away our time and money when we most need it to tend our own homes and souls. We fill up time instead of taking time. We fill up space instead of making space or holding space. Pain, grief, and need take us off balance. And I have been feeling this.

But I AM grateful. And I pray I am kind and loving despite my pain. I hope I remember to look beyond my own circumstance to see (and help meet) the needs of others. I hope I say “you’re welcome” as often as I say “thank you.” And I pray I have the courage, the strength, and the presence of mind to take folks up on their offers of generosity so I can hear the words “you’re welcome” and know the depth of their meaning.

We need balance. And it takes both courage and community to be both grateful and generous.

And it’s complicated, so let’s give ourselves a break.
Happy Thanksgiving.

November 24, 2018 Zanaida 0

Resigning from SGVCC with Love

Dear Friends,

Effective June 30th of this year, I will resign from my position as Artistic Director of the San Gabriel Valley Choral Company. This decision is one that I have struggled with, as SGVCC has meant so much to me over these last 5 years. The time seems right for this transition, as I have accepted a full-time position as choral instructor at Harvard-Westlake School in Studio City.

With SGVCC, I have been nurtured and supported, and I have grown exponentially as a conductor. My vision as an artistic director was realized and validated through my work with SGVCC – for this I am deeply grateful. We served children and the elderly in our community, collaborated with other arts and civic organizations, performed major works, sang a wide variety of styles, honored each other, and had so much fun! I have learned so much about non-profit arts management, board succession, fundraising, and staff management. Most of all, I have made beautiful music with a group of the most beautiful people on the planet. Our community is so special, and we should never ever take that for granted.

I have no doubt that under the leadership of the brilliant Dr. Alexandra Grabarchuk, SGVCC will continue to thrive and grow. As my work with the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Project, Street Symphony, and the National Association of Negro Musicians continues, I look forward to remaining connected to SGVCC.

My final concert with SGVCC is this Saturday, June 24 at 7pm. Our concert entitled ”Route 66- Music and the All-American Highway” features jazz and blues, folk tunes, and rock ‘n’ roll songs that explore our relationship with this historic highway. It’s a choral celebration of America’s love affair with the open road and the stories we tell on the journey of life. Our children’s choir “Kids in Concert” will also be featured. Tickets are now available at the cost of $5 for children, $15 for students and seniors, and $20 for the general public. The concert will be held in the beautiful acoustical space of The Parish of Saint Luke, 122 S. California Avenue in Monrovia. More information can be found at www.choralcompany.org or by calling 818-802- 9620.

Yours truly,

Zanaida Robles

June 23, 2017 Zanaida 0

First Street Symphony Performance

I had an opportunity to sing for a very special audience on October
10, 2015. I had never been inside a prison facility before, and I
figured this a fitting Street Symphony experience, which could aid me
in my personal preparation for the Messiah Project. We, the Street
Symphony Chamber Singers, sang Durufle, Palestrina, Moses Hogan. But
the magic truly began when the inmates sang to US. First, I taught
them a little canon I wrote called “Umoja,” the first principle of
Kwanzaa meaning “unity.” We all sang it together, joining our voices
to voices of the incarcerated women. And when we had finish and they
had heartily thanked us, the women then asked if they could sing a
song for us. They harmonized and swayed in rhythm and sang fervently,
freely. In that moment, they gave us a most precious gift: their own
hearts through music. In sharing their music with us, they showed us
were all the same and that we all have the same power to use music as
a vehicle for building relationships. And I was humbled.

October 15, 2015 Zanaida 0