MY MANTRA

Singers are athletes. Athletes are artists.

Say it again.
And again.
And again.

Actually, I think all performing artists are athletes. Think about the implications – the importance of health and fitness, the hours of practice and rehearsal, the training, the coaching, the performances, the injuries and ailments, the competitions, the tears of failure, the tears of triumph. What other parallells do you see? When I think about the parallells between arts and athletics, I feel more open to the possiblity of connection beyond my music circle. The possibility of deeper, broader connections in the greater community excites me and gives me hope for the future.

Singing

On Sunday, March 28 at 10am, I’m singing “Precious Lord” for a special Truth and Reconciliation service at Neighborhood Church. Being able to sing this special song from the bottom of my heart while in the context of my church work is a blessing I never take for granted.

Composition

While I’m working on 3 new commissions at the moment, orchestration and composition studies are occupying much of my time. Taking lessons, reading Piston and Adler, studying works by various orchestral composers, and working on foundational assignments to help improve my compositional process – it’s humbling but rewarding.

Conducting

We’re on tour in Costa Rica, where I’m conducting the Harvard-Westlake choirs in 3 concerts over 6 days. Pura vida!

For Fun

Memories from the Western ACDA Regional Conference in San Jose:

With conductors Kevin Tyson, Jeffrey Benson, and Scot Hanna-Weir

At the river’s edge – such beauty and energy just a 5 minute walk from home.

Cat meld

More adventures to come,

Originally published as Zanaida’s March 2026 email newsletter – You can join the list here.

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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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I’m so excited to announce my first album, coming December 1st!

(Final cover art is pending, based on the painting above by Paul A. Smith.)

TRACK LIST

Mass in E minor
-Kyrie
-Gloria
-Credo
-Sanctus
-Agnus Dei

Ecstatic Expectancy

Psalm 61

Magnificat*

Nunc Dimittis*

Veni Sancte Spirtus

The CSULB Bob Cole Chamber Choir
Dr. Zanaida Stewart Robles, conductor
Dr. Heejung Ju, collaborative keyboard artist

Dave Tull, percussionist

*The California Coleridge Taylor Singers
Dr. Zanaida Stewart Robles, conductor
James Walker, organ
Wells Leng, piano

Singing

Sunday, November 3 at 10am

Neighborhood UU Church Pasadena

Michael Fausto conducts the Neighborhood chorus with me singing “I Want Jesus to Walk With Me” arranged by Moses Hogan. I also get to sit in the soprano section while Michael conducts the “Kyrie” from Mozart’s Requiem.

Gonna be fun!!

Conducting

On Wednesday, October 16, I conducted the Harvard-Westlake Chamber Singers at the Riverside City College High School Choral Festival. Singing music by Williametta Spencer, Christopher Wong, and Ralph Vaughn Williams, these young singers were terrific!

For Fun

Woke up from a nap with cats all over me!

Me, starstruck with composer Frank Ticheli after conducting his “Earth Song” at Neighborhood Church last month.

Guava Harvest

Originally published as part of Zanaida’s October 2024 newsletter

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Coming home

What an extraordinary gift it was to conduct and record my music with the CSULB Bob Cole Chamber Choir this April.

They sang their faces off!

I couldn’t be more proud of my alma mater nor more grateful for Dr. Jonathan Talberg, my teacher, mentor, and lifelong friend.

Composition

Composer’s bliss

This is me in ecstasy, standing up to congratulate the Los Angeles Master Chorale after they world premiered my Song of Significance. This work and this program were very personal to me, and I’m so privileged to be commissioned for this work and included on a concert with J.S. Bach and the terribly neglected Margaret Bonds. It was all curated by artistic director Grant Gershon and pianist/radio host/champion for Black composers Lara Downes, and the whole concert was very inspiring. The San Francisco Classical Voice seems to agree, with many good things to say about the program with a focus on the Bonds works, and a nice shout-out to Song of Significance for “masterful choral orchestration, romantic and lush“. (I’ll take it!)

Read the full review

Conducting

Coming this weekend

The Harvard-Westlake choirs have returned from England wreathed in glory, and they’ll wrap up that victory with their annual spring concert this Saturday at the campus’ Rugby Auditorium. I’ll be conducting my composition, “Can You See”, plus music from the musical “The Secret Garden”, and lots more. Admission is free!

Singing

Soundcloud Song of the Month

From the Stone Age

Written and performed by Zanaida Stewart Robles

I had a chance to sit down at home this month and record a demo of my piece “From the Stone Age” for SSAA choir, piano, cello, and flute. Text is by Alice Corbin Henderson (pictured). More about Alice below.

Poet Alice Corbin Henderson (1881-1949) was known for her activism related to Indigenous rights and environmental conservation. This 8-minute musical setting of Henderson’s poetry tells the story of a stone once carved in the semblance of a god. Over time, its surfaces are smoothed by the elements to reveal a beautiful resilience. Gradually, it becomes more beautiful and less rigid until its original form is unrecognizable and irrelevant. With a soaring soprano solo and moderately challenging harmonies and counterpoint, this work for treble choir, piano, cello, and flute offers singers a chance to explore time, the cosmos, and transformation through the embodiment of a stone.

Listen and view the perusal score