REQUIEM for four soprano voices, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, tuba, and percussion written for Quince Ensemble and Musicians of Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Requiem is inspired by death rituals of various cultures including the Anglican Church Order for the Burial of the Dead, the Tibetan Book of the Dead, Neoshamanist dying rituals including the “Great Death Spiral,” and New Orleans jazz funeral celebrations of life. The form is in five sections, with English text from the Bible and Greek and Latin from the traditional Catholic mass: 

I.	“All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.” – Ecclesiastes 3:20 (NIV) 
II.	“Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” – 1 Corinthians 15: 51-52 (NRSV)
III.	“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.” – Psalm 23 (NRSV)
“Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem. Dona eis requiem sempiternam.”
“Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison.”
IV.	 (no text)
V.	“See, the home of God is among mortals. [God] will dwell with them; they will be [God’s] peoples, 
and God will be with them; [God] will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” – Revelation 21: 3-4 (NRSV altered)

Requiem is commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association for MusicNOW 
and made possible through the generous support of Helen Zell.

Requiem

Setting inspiring words by James Weldon Johnson, this work is both poignant and stirring, encouraging singers and listeners to reflect on the challenges of present times and to move forward with courage and strength towards a brighter future. The choral writing beautifully reflects the powerful text, leading us towards a climactic reminder that 'Tho' thick the battle and tho' fierce the fight, There is power in making for the right'. My heart be brave is an ideal choice for choirs looking to address issues of social justice in their programming.

More on the OUP site

My heart be brave - Marques L. A. Garrett

The California Coleridge-Taylor Singers
Zanaida Robles, conductor
Molly Pease and Marlaina Owens, soprano soloists
Dave Tull, hi-hat
Wells Leng, finger cymbal

Ecstatic Expectancy by Zanaida Robles

a new choral setting of the "Alleluia"

This is a multitrack recording with me singing. 

SAUNDER CHOI: Alleluia (2013)

Guidelines 
A cantata in 3 movements for SATB Choir, treble choir, harp, flute, strings, and percussion. Celebrating the life and wisdom of Dominican American poet Rhina P. Espaillat

I. Cycles
II. Para Mi Trataranieto el Pionario
III. Guidelines

Zanaida Robles, soprano
Valerie Tambaoan, alto
A. J. Teshin, tenor
Ben Lin, Bass

Children:
Lucy Koeckert
Elisabeth Koeckert

Recorded and mixed by The Teshin Company, 2024
Additional track programming by A. J. Teshin

Guidelines - demo

Guidelines

From the Stone Age 
by Alice Corbin Henderson

Long ago, some one carved me in the semblance of a god. 
I have forgot now what god I was meant to represent.
I have no consciousness now but of stone, sunlight, and rain; 
The sun baking my skin of stone, the wind lifting my hair;
The sun's light is hot upon me, 
The moon's light is cool,
Casting a silver-laced pattern of light and dark 
Over the planes of my body:
My thoughts now are the thoughts of a stone, 
My substance now is the substance of life itself; 
I have sunk deep into life as one sinks into sleep; 
Life is above me, below me, around me,
Moving through my pores of stone—
It does not matter how small the space you pack life in,
That space is as big as the universe 
Space, volume, and the overtone of volume 
Move through me like chords of music, 
Like the taste of happiness in the throat,
Which you fear to lose, though it may choke you— 
(In the cities this is not known,
For space there is emptiness,
And time is torment) ..... 
Since I became a stone
I have no need to remember anything— 
Everything is remembered for me; 
I live and I think and I dream as a stone, 
In the warm sunlight, in the grey rain; 
All my surfaces are touched to softness
By the light fingers of the wind,
The slow dripping of rain:
My body retains only faintly the image
It was meant to represent,
I am more beautiful and less rigid,
I am a part of space
Time has entered into me,
Life has passed through me–
What matter the name of the god I was meant to represent?

From the Stone Age

Titled with a Somali word used in Kenyan refugee camps, this piece touches upon a refugee's dream of resettlement as well as experiences of despair and struggle. A repetitive four-note motif and interplay between choir and cello represent the relentless passage of time and the ongoing adversities of a refugee's journey. A powerful and socially responsive concert work for experienced choirs.
To order: https://www.jwpepper.com/Buufis/11569705.item

Buufis | Bussewitz-Quarm/Tait (2024)  SATB

Border Lines • SATB chorus and guitar or cello • ca. 5'30''
artist: University of Colorado Boulder University Choir, Nicolò Spera, guitar
recording shared courtesy of Soundwaves Recording

SOME MAPS have blue borders
like the blue of your name
or the tributary lacing of
veins running through your
father’s hands. & how the last
time I saw you, you held
me for so long I saw whole
lifetimes flooding by me
small tentacles reaching
for both our faces. I wish
maps would be without
borders & that we belonged
to no one & to everyone
at once, what a world that
would be. Or not a world
maybe we would call it
something more intrinsic
like forgiving or something
simplistic like river or dirt.
& if I were to see you
tomorrow & everyone you
came from had disappeared
I would weep with you & drown
out any black lines that this
earth allowed us to give it—
because what is a map but
a useless prison? We are all
so lost & no naming of blank
spaces can save us. & what
is a map but the delusion of
safety? The line drawn is always
in the sand & folds on itself
before we’re done making it.
& that line, there, south of
el río, how it dares to cover
up the bodies, as though we
would forget who died there
and for what? As if we could
forget that if you spin a globe
& stop it with your finger
you’ll land it on top of someone
living, someone who was not
expecting to be crushed by thirst—

text : Yesenia Montilla

Copyright © 2017 Mari Esabel Valverde. All rights reserved.

Image: "Person in Black Pants Walking on White Floor Tiles" by Zaur Ibrahimov on Unsplash

Border Lines (SATB) (2025)

2010-2011 MMEA All-State Mixed Choir

Your children (are not your children) - SATB version

"Come Holy Spirit"
by Zanaida Robles
performed by Zanaida Robles

Zanaida Robles's Album

Veni Sancte Spiritus

Dr. Zanaida Stewart Robles is a fierce advocate for diversity and inclusion in music education and performance. Authentic interpersonal connection and relationship-building are core principals of her teaching and performance methods. Born, raised, and educated in Southern California, she is in demand as a vocalist, conductor, clinician and adjudicator for competitions, festivals, and conferences related to choral and solo vocal music. She serves on the national board of the National Association of Negro Musicians and is chair of the board of directors of Tonality, a non-profit organization that promotes peace, unity, and social justice through choral music performance in Los Angeles. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the USC Thornton School of Music, a Master of Music degree from CSU Northridge, a Bachelor of Music degree from CSU Long Beach, and she is a graduate of the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. 

As a performing arts instructor at Harvard-Westlake Upper School in Studio City, CA, Dr. Robles conducts the Chamber Singers, Jazz Singers, Bel Canto Treble Choir, and Wolverine Chorus for tenors and basses. She is also the director of music at Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church in Pasadena, CA where she oversees the Neighborhood Chorus, Neighborhood Bells, and the new Neighborhood Youth Choir. Dr. Robles has served for 5 years as music director for “Project Messiah” with Street Symphony – an organization that engages communities directly affected by homelessness and incarceration in LA County through performances, workshops and teaching artistry. While studying at the University of Southern California (USC), she conducted the USC Thornton University Chorus for two years. Prior to this, she worked at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA) for 7 years where she was the director of classical choirs and taught vocal fundamentals, sight singing, and music theory. Under her direction, the LACHSA Classical Choirs performed for numerous festivals, concerts, and special events at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and in other venues throughout Southern California.
As a concert soprano soloist, studio vocalist for film and television, and professional ensemble singer, Dr. Robles has sung throughout the United States, and in parts of Europe, New Zealand, and Australia, performing professionally under the batons of such conductors as Gustavo Dudamel, Esa-Pekka Salonen, John Adams, John Mauceri, Charles Dutoit, Leonard Slatkin, Jeffrey Kahane, Grant Gershon, and Michael Tilson Thomas. She has performed background vocals for various artists including Josh Groban, the Rolling Stones, Andrea Bocelli, and Juanes. Her film and television credits include “Glee,” “Tinkerbell: Pirate Fairy,” “Godzilla,” “Minions,” “Creed,” “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” “Venom,” “Smallfoot,” “Frozen 2,” and "Underwater."

From the Stone Age

Zanaida Stewart Robles

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