James Martin

Baritone James Martin has won critical acclaim for his performances in opera, musical theater, and concerts as a versatile singer, actor, and entertainer, with an artistic repertoire including Bach, be-bop, Busoni, Burleigh, Berg, and Bernstein. He has appeared with leading orchestras and musical organizations throughout the US and abroad, including opera companies of Mississippi, Chicago, San Francisco, Santa Fe, St. Louis, New York, Toronto, Strasbourg, Basel, and Oslo; the music festivals of Marlboro, Ravinia, Aspen, Moab, Colmar, and Tel Aviv; and concert and recital appearances with New York’s Continuum, Summergarden, Joy in Singing, the American Composers Orchestra, Meet the Composers, Lincoln Center’s African American History and American Songbook Series. Mr. Martin is also a frequent guest artist with the New York Festival of Song. His operatic roles include Sam in Trouble in Tahiti, Marcello in La boheme, and Betto in Gianni Schicchi, as well as roles in Mozart’s Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Papageno. Mr. Martin created the role of the black American pioneer Matthew Henson in the world premiere of Facing South with Canada’s Tapestry New Opera Works. Regional musical theater credits include Billy Flynn in Chicago, Joe in Show Boat, the Leading Player in Pippin, Billy in Some Enchanted Evening, Billy Crocker in Anything Goes, Quixote and Cervantes in Man of La Mancha, Lucky in Dames at Sea, and Bill Starbuck in 110 in the Shade.

Mr. Martin received his bachelor’s degree from Illinois Wesleyan University and his master’s degree from The Juilliard School, where he was a young artist with the Juilliard Opera Center and served as director and facilitator of the school’s annual Martin Luther King Celebration for many years. He is a recipient of the William Schuman prize, the Sony Elevated Standards Award, and the Theodore Presser and Irene Diamond scholarships. A strong advocate for arts education, James has worked closely developing outreach programs, master classes, and concert performances with numerous regional organizations. James makes his home in Jackson, Mississippi, where he is active as soloist and facilitator.