Grammy-nominated opera singer Jubilant Sykes was found stabbed to death in his Santa Monica home Monday after a 911 call alerted police to an assault in progress.
Police arrived at the home just before 9:30 p.m. and found Sykes, 71, with “significant injuries,” Santa Monica Police Lt. Lewis Gilmour told MyNewsLA.com. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Micah Sykes, the singer’s 31-year-old son, was taken into custody at the home and is expected to be charged with murder. A weapon was recovered, Gilmour said.
Sykes was a beloved baritone who has long performed with top ochestras and at well-known venues. He performed the role of the Celebrant in the 2009 recording of Leonard Bernstein’s “Mass,” which was nominated for a Grammy for Best Classical Album.
Neighbors told MyNewsLA that Sykes grew up in Santa Monica and sang at the nearby Calvary Baptist Church.
“I grew up with him,” Pam Forbes Clayton told reporters. “His mother (was) so involved with this Santa Monica community. Jubilant was a singer beyond words. He sang all around the country, opera. He was so beautiful. And he would just walk from here, two blocks over down the hill and say, `Pam, I need space, can I sing in the (church) sanctuary?’ And I said, `Sure.’ We’d leave him in there. He’d say, `Can I sing over here in the garden?’ We’d leave him there.”
According to his website, heSykesperformed with symphonies all over the country and with conductors such as Teddy Abrams, Marvin Hamlisch, Krisjan Jarvi, Kurt Masur, and John Williams.
He also performed at the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, Deutch Oper Berlin, the New Orleans Jazz Festival, the Apollo Theater, and the Hollywood Bowl and with artists including Julie Andrews, Terence Blanchard, Renée Fleming, Josh Groban, Patrice Rushen, Carlos Santana, and Brian Wilson.
Sykes appeared in the 2014 film Freedom as the African slave Ozias and the lead in the play Breath and Imagination on the life of Roland Hayes.
Sykes and his wife Cecelia had three sons.
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[Featured image: Jubilant Sykes/James Pratt/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International]