Jubilant Sykes

Jubilant Roberto Sykes (September 17, 1954 – December 8, 2025) was an American baritone singer. He was active internationally on the opera stage, in concert and in musicals, and performed contemporary worship music, African-American spirituals, gospel, funk and pop. A 2008 recording of Leonard Bernstein's Mass, in which Sykes performed the part of the Celebrant, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Classical Album.

Early life Jubilant Roberto Sykes was born in Los Angeles on September 17, 1954, to Robert and Eloise Sykes. He later said that his mother named him Jubilant because she wanted him to become jubilant. and took piano lessons. Sykes attended California State University, Fullerton, studied voice

Career From 1978, he worked for the music ministry of Grace Community Church. He enrolled as a graduate student at the University of Southern California, where he was cast in a production of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess that toured Europe. including Julie Andrews, Josh Groban, Carlos Santana, John Williams, and Brian Wilson. the Kennedy Center, the Barbican Centre in London, the Apollo Theater, and the Hollywood Bowl. He performed as a soloist with orchestras conducted by Christoph Eschenbach, Raymond Leppard and Lorin Maazel. He appeared in the 2001 City Center Encores! performance of Bloomer Girl as Pompey.

In 2008, he appeared in the role of the Celebrant in a Naxos recording of Leonard Bernstein's Mass; the following year, the recording was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Classical Album category. Leslie Wright, a critic for MusicWeb International, favorably compared Sykes to Alan Titus, who had sung the Celebrant in the premiere recording of the Mass. Wright also noted that Sykes, whose voice changed "from beautifully soft singing to crooning, as the text requires", seemed more dramatic and interesting.

Sykes was the artistic advisor for Orchestra Santa Monica.

Personal life and death Sykes and his wife Cecelia had three sons. with "critical injuries consistent with stabbing". Paramedics pronounced him dead. Sykes' wife, Cecelia, initially reported the incident as an assault, and told investigators that Micah had a history of mental illness, although according to the Times, investigators had not determined at that point whether this played a role in Sykes' killing. Micah was arrested without incident and charged on suspicion of homicide.

Filmography

Film

Recordings Number of the Lord (1981) Wait for Me (Sony, 2001) Jubilation, with Christopher Parkening (Angel Records, 2007) Bernstein: Mass, with Peabody Children's Chorus, Morgan State University choir, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop, cond. Jubilant Sykes Sings Copland and Other Spirituals (Ariola Records, 2010)

Accolades