Baritone James C Martin has won critical acclaim for his performances in opera, musical theater, and in concert as a versatile singer, actor, and entertainer. His artistic repertoire spans Bach to be-bop, Busoni to Burleigh, and Berg to Bernstein. He has appeared with leading musical organizations throughout the United States and abroad, and he has had the privilege to be featured with many premiere arts organizations, including Lincoln Center’s African-American History festival and American Songbook series during the inaugural season of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s residency at Frederick P Rose Hall.
An advocate of new music, James has premiered and performed concert and operatic works by many recent and living composers, including George Walker, Tania León, Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Virgil Thomson, Ned Rorem, Libby Larsen, Bright Sheng, Arvo Pärt, Stefan Wolpé, and Bohuslav Martinů. At The Village Trip 2025, he premiered Five American Voices by the festival’s Artist Emeritus, David Amram.
James holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Illinois Wesleyan University and a Master of Music from the Juilliard School, where he was also a Young Artist with the Juilliard Opera Center. He apprenticed with the Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of St Louis, the San Francisco Opera’s Merola program and the Western Opera Theatre Tour, as well as L’Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg, France, as one of seven international Les jeunes voix du Rhin. His many awards include Juilliard’s William Schuman Prize, and the SONY Elevated Standards award.
In addition to a successful performance career, James is an accomplished teacher, coach, director, producer, facilitator, and arts education advocate. As a Teaching Artist he has toured classrooms and educational performance venues for the Metropolitan Opera Guild, New York City Opera, New York Festival of Song, Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Opera in the Neighborhoods, and Mississippi Opera. Currently, he serves as Assistant Professor of Music at Dickinson College, and as Music Director for the Summer Theatre Project and Summer Performing Arts Conservatory Camp (SPACC) for the St Thomas Playhouse in Sun Valley, Idaho. He is also a founding member of the New York Festival of Song Artists Council.
As a church musician and facilitator, James served in the Trinity Choir of New York’s Trinity Episcopal Church, Wall Street, during his student years through the 9/11 attacks, and continues a close association with the Episcopal Church as an active member, and artistic consultant for the Diocese of Mississippi. For many years, he was the voice of the Juilliard School, providing voiceovers for WNYC and other constituents of the famed conservatory.
September 27 @ 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Let Freedom Sing: Paul Robeson – His Words, His Music
A Tribute, with bass-baritone James C Martin, pianist Lynn Raley