Travel gets tedious, room service meals mundane and receptions exhausting. For almost 10 years, this is the life Drew Graham has known. So it’s understandable the 30-year-old has to pause in his hotel room and think where in the world he is.
“Geez, we’re in California today, I think,” he says in a telephone interview.
As one of the voices and creative forces behind The Ten Tenors, the 30-year-old admits circling five continents for 10 months doing 250 shows, including one in Richmond on Saturday, can be a drag. But in the same breath, he says it can also be a lot of fun.
Maybe it’s something Australian that a group of 10 guys and crew can amicably pass time together on a bus drinking a couple of beers and watching a few movies.
“The good thing about it is there are so many people in the group itself, that if you are sort of stuck for having a good time with someone, you can go out with someone else. That’s always been the best thing about it—it’s (like) a travelling football team of Australian guys who know how to get along and have a bit of fun along the way.”
The ensemble formed in 1995 while the tenors were university students in Brisbane, Australia, studying for careers in opera. They started with corporate gigs, singing stuff people knew from spaghetti commercials.
Bits of musical theatre and standards from Queen (“Bohemian Rhapsody”) and melodies from the Bee Gees were added into the show. The singers turned their act into a professional show, and touring began.
Since then the group has developed a strong live profile in Europe, Canada and the U.S. and their albums continue to climb in popularity. Their latest, Here’s to the Heroes, is filled with tenors’ voices set to music of Oscar-winning composers such as John Barry and Hans Zimmer.
“There’s this whole cinematic scope about them, which lends itself to big big vocal sounds, which we thought was quite appropriate for us,” says Graham.
Their latest tour began last September. Graham is also joint music director, and keeps himself grounded by continuing to develop new material for the shows and recordings.
“That’s always kept me normal, I guess, and from going out of my tree. I’ve been here so long now—almost 10 years.”
Graham got his love of music from his parents. But it was in high school that he really connected with it, thanks to a good music teacher.
“That really helped, having someone who is there and helping you along the way and teaching you your instrument as well, and just being a good mate. I think that’s where I picked up most of my musical ability and love of what I do.”
He’s now the longest serving member of the ensemble, and with that, Graham considers himself a mentor.
“We have a particular group culture about us, particular ways of things being done and how we operate. That’s always been a big part of the older guys’ job, or the guys who have been here longer—to really show the younger guys how it’s done and why we do it, and try to foster a loyalty to the group itself.”
Besides singing cinematic music of their new album, the group still sings from their classic repertoire of the Bee Gees and sing their favourite bits from classic operas.
Graham’s favourite song to perform is “Just To See Each Other Again” (written by Barry, of Bond soundtrack fame, and Don Black). He’s the lead voice for the song. But Graham says each singer has his chance to shine in the show, nipping any competitive urges in the bud.
“There’s never really been any divas about in the group, or anyone who thinks they’re better than anyone else,” he says. “I think it’s strangely an Australian thing, that we’re pretty humble about who gets a solo and why.”
The Ten Tenors
•Saturday, Feb. 16 at 8 p.m.
•River Rock Show Theatre
•Tickets, $39.50 to $49.50, at www.ticketmaster.ca or 604-280-4444
Source: Richmond Review
