A group of 10 men from Australia are coming to sing at Dixie State College as part of the Celebrity Concert Series.
The Ten Tenors will be performing inside the Cox Auditorium Thursday and Friday with both performances starting at 7:30 p.m.
According to their Web site, www.thetentenors.com, the group debuted in 1995, when all of the men were young opera students at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music in Brisbane, Australia. They started out slowly with few performances and started touring in 1998 through Australia. They have been touring in the U.S. since 2003 and currently tour world-wide.
All of the men are classically-trained to be able to sing music of all different genres, including pop, classical, Celtic and many others. According to the Web site, more than 77 million people have seen them in concert to date.
Gail Bunker, Celebrity Concert Series director, said she was approached by the group’s agent about coming to St. George as part of the series. She said she presented the idea to the CCS board, and everyone agreed they would be a good addition.
“They are all quite young,” Bunker said. “All of their biographies are quite professional and impressive.”
Bunker said many of the men in The Ten Tenors have won awards for their outstanding abilities as singers, and have been in world-class operas and choirs.
“They have been in various operas, touring individually as soloists, and are all highly professional,” Bunker said. “They are not just some kids that got together and decided to sing. Blending all of their voices together is a whole different scenario as well. It’s one thing to sing solo and another thing to sing in a combined genre like they do.”
She said none of the tenors will be using microphones at the performance in order to keep their sound more natural. However, they will be using a piano and drum kit. As far as what they are expected to perform here, Bunker said the group prefers to keep their options open and unannounced to the audience.
“Their repertoire is wide,” Bunker said. “I don’t know what their program will be.”
Bunker said she saw a video of the group performing and was impressed with them right away.
“They are funny,” Bunker said. “In their concerts they banter with the audience quite a bit, which will be fun. They do it so people feel connected to them.”
Angela Frank, a sophomore psychology major from Orcas Island, Wash., said she had not heard of The Ten Tenors until recently. Frank said she thinks it would be a lot of fun to go to their concert, seeing as she has not been to a concert for a while.
“That would be fun to see,” Frank said. “It’s something I’ve never been to before.”
Frank said she heard about the group coming through a friend who made plans to go.
“[My friend] is so excited,” Frank said. “I think I’ll go to find out why.”
Tickets to see The Ten Tenors can be purchased through the DSC box office at 435-652-7800. Prices are $18 for adults, $12 for anyone under 18, and $3 for DSC students with current ID cards.
“Students really ought to come see what it’s like,” Bunker said. “If they stay they might just find they enjoy it. We can sell all of those tickets for $18, but we want to offer students the chance to attend at a cheaper price.”
Source: Dixie Sun
