A&E
Grammy-nominated baritone Jubilant Sykes awes audience
By Edgar Otero ’20
September 15, 2016
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The Hamilton community was in for a treat this past weekend. The Schambach Center for Music and the Performing Arts presented a concert that featured Jubilant Sykes, a world-renowned baritone singer, in Wellin Hall.
Sykes is known for his unique repertoire of songs influenced by a classical, jazz and gospel musical background.
Christopher Parkening, classical guitar virtuoso, and Mark Rice, pianist, accopanied Sykes.
Sykes opened the show with “Motherless Child,” an original piece that showcased his powerful, awe-inspiring voice. His voice delighted the audience, comprised of Hamilton students and faculty and Clinton residents alike.The passion behind his song was evident to all in attendance.
Parkening’s fluid guitar strumming complemented Sykes’s strong, hall-rocking vocals.
The diverse styles of music performed by Sykes included Brazilian arrangements such as “Cacador” by Laurindo Almeida and the traditional “Boi Bumba,” alongside Spanish compositions such as “Pampano Verde” by Francisco de la Torre and “Granadinas” by Tomas Barrera and Rafael Calleja. Although pieces like these were sung in Portuguese and Spanish, respectfully, Sykes conveniently discussed the significance of each song before singing them. Not one to shy from audience interaction, Sykes sought to engage with his listeners by expressing his sense of humor throughout the spectacle.
Listeners also had the opportunity to hear Parkening as a soloist on select classical guitar pieces, including “Koyunbaba, Op. 19” and “Moderato,” both by Carlo Domeniconi. Parkening’s crisp, smooth guitar flavor was a refreshing addition to the show. The sheer intensity and focus with which he plucked and strummed his stringed instrument was a thing of wonder, and a great way to ease listeners into the intermission period.
In the second half of the concert, Rice provided a sweet piano backdrop for Sykes to continue drawing the audience in with his otherworldly vocal range on selections including “Lamento” by Rique Pantoja and the Latin-inspired “La Rosa y El Sauce” by Carlos Gustavino. Although a decent amount of his music was sung in a foreign language, the fluency with which he sung them would make a believer out of anyone in the audience.
Coming from someone who never experienced a concert of this genre before Saturday, a sincere appreciation for the style and culture of this music grew inside me, and I can see my musical taste expanding because of the utter beauty I heard throughout the night. And I know I was not the only one in the audience that night just as eager to learn more about that unique array of music on display.
Jubilant Sykes, Christopher Parkening, and Mark Rice left the audience breathless.
To anyone apprehensive about attending a concert blind to its genre, I say, go for it.
Chances are, the benefits will be worthwhile, as they were for me.