Jubilant Sykes

Jubilant Sykes, a Grammy-nominated baritone whose warm, genre-crossing voice carried from church pulpits to the world's major concert halls, died December 8, 2025, in Santa Monica, California. He died of injuries sustained in a stabbing at the age of 71.

Sykes was born in 1954 and grew up in Los Angeles, where he sang soprano as a child before his voice settled into his resonant baritone. In later interviews he recalled that his parents chose the name "Jubilant" in the hope that he would grow into it.

He attended California State University, Fullerton, where teachers and mentors introduced him seriously to classical singing and opera. "I had teachers who poured their lives into me," he told a Cal State Fullerton news outlet in 2019, crediting the campus with preparing him for his career.

Sykes attracted attention for a style that blended classical technique with gospel, jazz and folk influences. Classically trained, he brought a new dimension to the baritone repertoire by moving easily between spirituals, lieder, Broadway standards and contemporary works.

His breakout in the classical world included the role of Jake in the Metropolitan Opera's 1990 production of "Porgy and Bess." Over the next decades he appeared with leading orchestras and presenters, including the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and many others, and sang at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, London's Barbican Centre, the Hollywood Bowl, and the Apollo Theater.

Sykes reached a wider international audience through Leonard Bernstein's "Mass." In 2009, he recorded the demanding role of the Celebrant with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop for Naxos. The album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Classical Album at the 2010 ceremony, an honor shared with Alsop and producer Steven Epstein.

Even as he toured opera houses and major concert halls, Sykes remained deeply connected to American spirituals and popular music. He recorded albums that placed traditional spirituals in jazz-inflected arrangements, including his 2010 release, "Jubilant Sykes Sings Copland and Spirituals."

In Southern California, Sykes became a familiar presence not only on major stages but also in community and educational settings. He returned several times to Cal State Fullerton to give master classes and speak with students about the realities of a singing career. He served as artistic advisor to Orchestra Santa Monica, performing and narrating in its programs and appearing in commissioned works such as "Potentia."

In addition to his career as a performer, Sykes also brought music into his spiritual life. He spent many years involved in the music ministry at the Southern California megachurch Grace Community Church.

Sykes often described singing as inseparable from his identity. "My singing is like breathing – it's an extension of me," he said in a 2002 interview with NPR. "I don't think of it as extraordinary. It's my passion."

Colleagues and community members said that Sykes was just as generous offstage as he was commanding onstage. Orchestra Santa Monica said he had been central to its artistic life, and its music director, Roger Kalia, offered one of the first public tributes. "Jubilant was a true inspiration – his artistry, generosity, and kindness touched countless lives," said Kalia, who worked closely with Sykes on recent projects.

In his private life, Sykes lived in Santa Monica with his wife, Cecilia. They had three sons together.

By Legacy News Staff

(Image: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)