Bringing the Concept of 'Tenor' Into Cool New Territory
One minute you're wrapped in the emotion of a song, the next you're falling over yourselves laughing at some off-the-cuff comment -The Celtic Tenors deliver one of those all-too-rare nights of concert-going that simply leaves you thoroughly and satisfyingly entertained.
Three of Ireland's favourite sons bring their celebrated mix of Irish and traditional music, pop and operatic favourites back to the Lower Mainland for a night of glorious music, with a healthy dose of wry humour thrown in. They will appear at North Vancouver's Centennial Theatre for a performance on April 25.
Matthew Gilsenan hails from North Meath, James Nelson from Sligo, and Daryl Simpson from Omagh. All are classically trained with a string of individual successes - and together as The Celtic Tenors, have established themselves as the most successful classical crossover artists ever to have come out of Ireland.
On the road almost constantly, they have won scores of passionate fans all over the world - some following them to their various stops on tour.
"We sing a complete mix, some classical, some pop, some Irish" says James, "songs we like singing".
"We don't get caught up in high brow, low brow - we just don't care about that", Matthew states. "We cut through all that. We sing songs in our own language…we feel we're part of the modern Ireland, but at the same time there is that core of Irishness, of Celticness that needs to be cherished."
Their debut album immediately shot to Number One in the classical charts while retaining a healthy position in the pop charts, selling in double platinum numbers.
Now with four albums to their credit, their television special Celebrate with the Celtic Tenors has become a PBS staple.
They've gone on to take the concept of "the tenor" into cool new territory by essentially breaking the tenor mold.
The Sunday Independent described their sound as "a thoughtful fusion of opera and trad...their a capella Danny Boy quite literally breathes new life into an old standard and serves to illustrate the sheer innovation of 'the Celtic Tenor sound'...it's a breath of fresh air."
Their North Vancouver concert, along with dates in Nanaimo on April 26 and Kelowna on the 28, includes their musical director Colm Henry from Manor Kilbride in County Wicklow, and the astonishing young soprano Donna Malone from Ballina in County Mayo. For tickets for the North Vancouver show, call the Centennial Theatre Box Office at (604) 984-4484.
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