Sundays with SAMF: Robert Sims, Baritone

Sundays with SAMF (the St. Augustine Music Festival) presents Robert Sims, Baritone, in a concert at the St. Augustine Waterworks on Sunday, May 31, 2026, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.

This Concert

Robert Sims has been praised for his rich baritone voice and ability to sing a varied musical repertoire. Most recently, Robert Sims celebrated his second performance with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, sang Brahms' German Requiem with the Oakland Symphony Orchestra, and sang with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. 

He is equally at home on the opera stage and sang with the Chicago Opera Theatre in the world premiere of Freedom Ride by Dan Shore. His operatic credits include roles in Porgy and Bess, La Traviata, and Cosi Fan Tutte, and he sang as the leading baritone in The James Baldwin Chronicles at the Chicago Modern Orchestra Project. 

Robert graduated from Oberlin Conservatory, SUNY Binghamton, and Northwestern University, and debuted at Carnegie Hall in 2005. 

The Program

Celebrating America: A Tribute through Song and Spirit

I

• Porgy’s Entrance Aria (Porgy and Bess) -Gershwin
• Precious Lord (Gospel Hymn) - Dorsey
• Don’t you let nobody (African American Spiritual) – McLin

II

Celebrating Harry T. Burleigh and Antonín Dvořák

• Swing Low Seet Chariot (African American Spiritual) Burliegh
• My Lord, What A Morning (African American Spiritual) Burliegh
• By and By (African American Spiritual) Burliegh
• Goin' Home (New World Symphony) Dvorák

III

• The Impossible Dream (Man of La Mancha) Piano Solo - Leigh
• I Am What I Am (La Cage Aux Folles) Herman

IV

• God Bless America (Peace Song) -Berlin
• It’s Me O Lord, Standing In The Need of Prayer (African American Spiritual) - Jackson-King

V

• Mornin’ Train (African American Spiritual) -Sims
• Same Train (African American Spiritual) – Carter

VI

• I Wanna Live in America (West Side Story) Piano Solo - Bernstein
• Maria (West Side Story) - Bernstein
• Try to Remember (The Fantasticks) - Schmidt
• The Sound of Music (The Sound of Music) -Rodgers
• I Got Plenty O Nuttin (Porgy and Bess) -Gershwin

The Details

Admission: $35.00 at the door, or purchase tickets online in advance for $25.00 per person. Students with an ID are $10.00 at the door.

When: Sunday, May 31, 2026, beginning at 3:00 p.m.

Where: The St. Augustine Waterworks, 184 San Marco Avenue, St. Augustine, 32084

Getting There: Access to the Waterworks is through the St. Augustine Main Library parking lot. (Use 1960 North Ponce de Leon Blvd. in your GPS.) 

About SAMF

The St. Augustine Music Festival, organized by members of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, performs world-class music to a diverse audience. Each year, SAMF produces free concerts over three weekends in June, at the Cathedral Basilica in St. Augustine. Early in the year, they host a series of more intimate concerts at the Waterworks to help fund their major program. SAMF is committed to entertaining and educating through music by providing inspiring performances of local and guest musicians. 

Sundays with SAMF 2026

See the series on their website.

• January 18, Kevin Sharpe, Pianist
• February 8, Chelsea Wang, Pianist
• March 22, Aaron Lehrian, Pianist
• April 19, Piotr Szewczyk and Alex Cooper, Composers
• May 31, Robert Sims, Baritone

The Waterworks

Built in 1898, the St. Augustine Waterworks is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The city moved this waterworks facility to a new location after significant population growth. For a time, the building served as a community center and theater, and was later left unused. Now fully renovated again, this facility is accessible, has free parking, and yet retains its historic architectural properties and charm.