Soprano Christine Jobson, baritone Markel Reed to headline next guest artist concert

Christine Jobson and Markel Reed will be performing at Randolph in February as part of the College’s celebration of Black History Month.

“They’ve both had recent successes on national and international operatic stages,” said Emily Yap Chua, director of the Guest Artist Concert Series, who first met Jobson through her work with the John Duffy Institute for New Opera at the Virginia Arts Festival.

“They are gaining attention in performances of contemporary works by Black composers, including Metropolitan Opera’s recent Grammy-winning productions of Fire Shut Up in My Bones and Porgy and Bess.”

The concert is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 4 at 3 p.m. in Wimberly Recital Hall. 

Made possible through The Edwin H. and Elaine Dahl St. Vincent Music Fund, it will feature a mix of art song, musical theatre, and operatic vocal selections, from works by Bach, Mozart, and Brahms to contemporary Black composers such as Noel da Costa, Shawn Okpebholo, and Dave Ragland.

Jobson, a soprano, has performed in Spain, Portugal, Austria, Russia, Jamaica, and throughout the United States—most recently in the chorus and as a featured soloist in the Metropolitan Opera’s Porgy and Bess.

She is an advocate for the preservation and dissemination of vocal music by African American composers, including Negro spirituals, anthems, art song, gospel, and hymns. This passion has inspired several of her recordings, including By Faith, a collection of hymns and spirituals, and Nearly Lost: Art Songs by Florence Price.

Jobson is also the founder of the Jobson Academy of Music, a virtual music school that provides individual instruction and performance opportunities to students of all ages, and Black Girls Sing Opera, an organization dedicated to showing the world that young black girls can do anything.

Reed, a baritone, has been featured in various concerts, recitals, and performances throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, with a repertoire that includes both standard and contemporary works.

He, too, sang in the Met’s production of Porgy and Bess, in addition to performing roles in several premieres: the acclaimed opera Fire Shut Up in My Bones with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in 2019; Black Bottom, a musical depiction of the historically black community of the same name, with the Detroit Symphony in 2020; and The Tongue & The Lash, a piece created in the wake of George Floyd’s death, with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in 2021.

Reed was also a young artist with Kentucky Opera during the 2014-15 season and a member of Utah Opera’s Resident Artist Program.

Both artists will be in residence at Randolph from Feb. 1-4, which includes several outreach sessions at T.C. Miller Elementary School and E.C. Glass High School.

Admission to the concert is free and open to the public.