Sacred and Profane Chamber Chorus presents an inspiring program featuring musical settings of powerful speeches by influential figures of the past and present. The concert will include the world premiere of The Root — an a cappella SATB work by Zanaida Stewart Robles — setting Angela Davis’ iconic statement, “I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.”
Mark your calendars for May 4, 2025, and join Spirito Singers for an inspiring evening of music celebrating unity and strength. Featuring a powerful program of songs that uplift and connect us—highlighted by the world premiere of “Beautiful,” a newly commissioned work by renowned composer and conductor Zanaida Stewart Robles.
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.
I wrote a reflection a couple weeks ago for the ACDA Western Region Conference session on worship in music. Sadly, ten minutes before I was supposed to offer this reflection, I dropped and broke the phone I was using. When it came time for me to speak, I just invited the audience into a moment of silent reflection on unity through choral music. Everything worked out fine, and my phone has since been replaced. But here’s some of what I would have said to the audience had my phone not been broken:
“20th century Black American operatic bass and civil rights activist Paul Robeson once said:
‘I shall take my voice wherever there are those who want to hear the melody of freedom or the words that might inspire hope and courage in the face of despair and fear. My weapons are peaceful, for it is only by peace that peace can be attained. The song of freedom must prevail.’
Songs of freedom and joy, songs of hope and courage, songs of wisdom, songs of rage, love, loss, and sacrifice – these are songs we all sing. Singing by oneself – whether in the shower or as a soloist in a studio or on a stage – can be healthy and powerful. But singing in a choral ensemble takes a special kind of vulnerability, courage, and selflessness. That’s why choral music is so powerful; our choral work together is sacred. Whether in houses of worship, in classrooms, on concert stages, in studios, in train stations, on street corners, or in parking garages, we amplify our power to inspire positive change when we sing music TOGETHER, thereby bringing meaning to our lives, and fostering the unity we long for.”
Conducting
UK, here we come…
The Harvard-Westlake Choirs embark on an 8-day performance and heritage tour of England! With stops in London, Cambridge, Gloucester, and Bath, this spring break trip is sure to be memorable! Here’s a link to our Brandenburg Festival concert:
Just 12 days until the world premiere of my piece “The Song of Significance” at Walt Disney Concert Hall, performed by the Grammy Award-winning Los Angeles Master Chorale.
Easter Sunday, March 31, is Gospel Sunday at Neighborhood UU Church in Pasadena, CA. Come hear my solo on “Gonna Have a Good Time” by Arvis Strickling-Jones!
sung by the California Coleridge-Taylor Singers Dr. Zanaida Stewart Robles, conductor James Walker, organist
This haunting response to Psalm 137 is described by one music blog in evocative terms: “Coleridge-Taylor’s writing for choir is superb; he excels at creating rich, thick textures and also thinner textures that don’t sound weak or unsupported. The general tone of this work is yearning, which is just what the Psalm is about — the yearning of the Jewish people while they were in Babylonian exile, yearning for Jerusalem. It’s a beautiful, poignant work.”
A sweet parent gave me flowers after our lunchtime choir tour preview concert at Harvard-Westlake! 🥹 Can’t wait to go to England!
Here are some escalator selfies at Walt Disney Concert Hall just before my promotional interview with Artistic Director Grant Gershon. The world premiere is coming up on April 6 & 7!
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.
