Christian Mark Gibbs receives prestigious honor from Alma Mater
Christian Mark-Gibbs, an opera singer, of Guyanese heritage, after graduating over five years ago with a Bachelor of Music from the Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College, New York, received the Choral Society 2022 Silver Jubilee Award in honor of John Castellini.
The tenor, who returned to his Alma Mater to perform the role of Moses in R. Nathaniel Dett’s — The Ordering of Moses at the 81st Annual Spring Concert, received the annual award, given to a distinguished School of Music graduate, who as an undergraduate, was associated with performances of the Choral Society.
Gibbs, who the playbill noted, is quickly establishing himself as a versatile artist in various mediums, was exceptional in his solo performance, accompanied by the Queens College Choral Society Orchestra, in the Golden Auditorium.
His operatic voice filled the space, as he sang verses including “I will sing Jehovah, For he hath triumphed gloriously, Thou Lord, in thy loving kindness Hath let the people, whom Thou hast redeemed” with which he, rendered a performance among other soloists, during the hour-long second half of the recital.
Featured in a series of debuts and world premieres at leading houses and performance venues, Gibbs was a guest artist at The Kennedy Center’s 50th anniversary season, and starred in two world-premiere operas at the Washington National Opera House — “It All Falls Down,” by Carlos Simon and the “Rift” by Huang Ruo).
A talent to be reckoned with, Gibbs, the son of Guyanese-born Ingrid King-Gibbs and American-born, Mark Gibbs Snr., made his international debut in September 2011, starring as Tony in West Side Story in Finland at the Savoy-teatteri. Just recently, he performed at Lincoln Center Theater in the cast of Ricky Ian Gordon and Lynn Nottage’s new hit opera “Intimate Apparel.”
The talented young man will continue performing at the Metropolitan Opera in the US premier of Brett Dean’s Hamlet. He has also performed at Feinstein’s 54/below, Joe’s Pub, Carnegie Hall, Queens’s College’s Kupferberg Center for the Arts, and Yale University.
Described as an avid champion of versality as an artist, Gibbs was most recently seen in a national TV commercial for Tillamook as the official Cheddar emcee for the “Cheddarbration” campaign for National Cheddar Day, which coincided with the 2022 Super Bowl.
The excitement and passion Gibbs brings to his electic career, were seen in the adverts he was featured in including Good Morning America/ABC, Cohen’s Fashion Optical, Sotheby’s International Realty, AXON, and NICE, among others.
His acting skills are also a part of his incredible showmanship, as seen in his portrayal of Cuba Gooding, in Hulu’s hit show Wu-Tang: An American Saga. He also wowed as Dennis on VH1’s My True Crime story.
The multi-talented artist, also released two songs Maria & Something’s Coming, recorded live from the West Side Story production at Finland, titled Tony: Two Songs from the West Side Story (live) now available on all major streaming platforms including iTunes, Apple Music, and Spotify.
Gibbs’ far-reaching talents were also showcased at Oklahoma at Denver Center, Falstaff at Opera Colorado, The Love I meant to Say at Lucille Lortel Theater and Coalhouse Walker Jr. in the Ragtime Fan Film: Wheels of a dream, directed by Akil DuPont.
A recipient of the Guyana Cultural Association Youth Award, Gibbs, who has an outstanding vocal range, sang the Guyana and American anthems at the Annual Folk Festival Awards, at Brooklyn Borough Hall, and was presented with a citation from then Borough President, Eric Adams, and other NYC Council members, and other elected officials.
