Jubilant Sykes has performed with the likes of Aretha Franklin. Coretta Scott King has been in his audience. He’s recording an album with Christopher Parkening, considered one of the best classical guitar players living.

Despite such achievements,  the singer remains firmly rooted.

“I just try to be the best I can be from day to day,” he said. “Especially the kind of music I do, it’s not pop, it’s not American Idol stuff. To me, it’s just day-to-day singing. It’s about life…”

Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sykes will perform with Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra at the Lied Center for Performing Arts, 301 N. 12th St., as part of the Lied Center’s British Festival.

The symphony, under the direction of the Peabody Conservatory of Music’s Edward Polochick, will perform “Pomp and Circumstance,” Military March No. 1 in D Major, Op. 39 by Edward Elgar; “Enigma Variations,” Op. 36, also by Elgar, and “Belshazzar’s Feast” by William Walton.

Sykes will be joined by choral groups from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and members of the UNL Marching Band for “Belshazzar’s Feast.”

The piece refers to a king from the Old Testament of the Bible.

“He stopped serving God, and then he got too proud,” Sykes explained. “He just got full of himself and became this egomaniac.”

The king hosted a feast for his friends to show off his wealth and power, when words suddenly appeared on the wall of his home.

“The writing on the wall says, ‘Today you have basically been found useless, and your kingdom’s going to be taken from you, and you will die,’” Sykes said, adding, “It’s really pretty dramatic.”

That’s one of the reasons he likes the piece.

“It’s a classical piece, but the orchestra parts and chorus parts are very dramatic,” Sykes said. “How (Walton) writes it really makes the words come out.”

Opera, however, isn’t the only type of music Sykes enjoys. Indeed, he was at a loss to pick just one.

“Being born in America, you know, you have all kinds of music,” he said. “I grew up listening to pop, and my dad played jazz trumpet … and being from southern California, of course, you have Latin music all around.”

And while Sykes’ record with Parkening will feature American and Brazilian music, he chose big band and jazz performers as dream collaborators.

“I would’ve liked Ray Charles or Ella Fitzgerald,” he said. “These are people that are long gone, but …. that’d be cool.”

The singer said it’s important to support local groups, such as the symphony orchestra.

“It’s important … to keep that kind of music going,” he said. “This piece, it’s a known piece, but it’s a piece that you don’t hear all the time.

“It’s a great opportunity to hear a great work and support (your) symphony.”

As part of the Lied Center’s British Festival, which celebrates the contributions of British culture to the arts, special activities will take place before the performance. Additionally, William Stibor of NET Radio will present a preperformance talk in the Steinhardt Room at 7 p.m.

Reach Hilary Stohs-Krause at 473-7254 or at hstohs-krause@journalstar.com.

If you go

What: Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra, featuring Jubilant Sykes, UNL choirs and the UNL Marching Band

Where: The Lied Center for Performing Arts, 301 N. 12th St.

When: Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets: Admission is $42, $34 or $26. Tickets for UNL students and youth 18 and younger are half-price. Tickets can be ordered by calling the Lied box office at (402) 472-4747 or by visiting www.liedcenter.org.