The ten tenors

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The Ten Tenors in September 2009

The Ten Tenors (or “TTT” for short) is the name of a ten-member vocal ensemble from Australia , which made its first appearance in Brisbane in 1995 on the occasion of the anniversary of a television station . At that time the ten singers were still music students; only since 1998 have they appeared professionally in their own concerts and released their first album. Since then they have been giving concerts internationally, and in Europe since 2001.

The line-up of the Ten Tenors has changed regularly since it was founded. What all singers have in common (with a few exceptions) is that they were students of the Queensland Conservatory. The group experienced their breakthrough in Europe as a surprise guest at the preliminary round of the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 in Kiel. They presented a medley of the participant songs. Two years later they were again guests at the German preliminary round Germany 12 Points! . This time they presented a Ralph Siegel medley, which was still a popular part of German shows for a long time.

Their repertoire is a mixture of opera and operetta pieces , original compositions and cover versions of titles by well-known bands (e.g. Queen , Bee Gees and Beach Boys ), some of which they present with humor. That is why they have occasionally been compared to the Comedian Harmonists . In recent years The Ten Tenors have consistently expanded their repertoire to include pieces they have composed themselves.

In March 2006, The Ten Tenors worked at Abbey Road Studios in London with the well-known film composer John Barry , who co-produced the new album 'Here's to the heroes', which was released in autumn 2006. In addition to the title song, which is based on the John Dunbar theme from Dances With Wolves , there are seven other songs by Barry, including two from earlier James Bond films. Most of the lyrics were written by Don Black , a long-time Barry employee. The repertoire was also mixed with four other film songs that Barry / Black had nothing to do with, from Highlander , Gladiator , Les Choristes and La vita è bella .

During the Here's to the Heroes tour, The Ten Tenors recorded their latest album Nostalgica . According to their own information, The Ten Tenors wanted to set themselves apart from other classical crossover groups with this album. The declared goal was a gift to the fans, in which the selection of songs on the album represents a selection of the classics of music history that have been requested again and again by the fans.

According to their own statements, they take their music very seriously, but not themselves, which is especially noticeable in the amusing announcements, the jokes during some songs and especially after the concerts when they are in direct contact with the fans. The Ten Tenors are approachable for their audience, charming and polite - and are in the mood for one or the other joke. The artistic director of the successful group is Matthew Hickey, who himself was on stage until 2003. Musical director is Steven Baker. He has been supported for some time by Drew Graham (Creative Director Production), Shannon Brown (Musical Director) and Craig Hendry (Programming / Arranging). The official management is Dmand Pty Ltd from Australia. The German tour planning is done by Funke Media in Hamburg.

In the specialist press, this special formation of a tenor ensemble, especially when it comes to the polyphonic representation of solo tenor roles, is sometimes critically questioned and compared with a football team made up of ten center strikers.

occupation

Singer

  • Sebastian Maclaine
  • Ben Stephens
  • Keane Fletcher
  • Robert Barbaro
  • Scott Muller
  • Paul Gelsumini
  • Cameron Barclay
  • Lucas Gelsumini
  • Joseph Naim
  • Jared Newall
  • Michael Edwards (Understudy)

There are usually at least eleven tenors on tour. One is the so-called understudy , which means that it is the second line-up in case a tenor is sick or takes vacation. In this way, the Ten Tenors have the opportunity to offer their fans full-line concerts at any time, while they are on tour almost continuously.

former singer
  • Daniel Belle
  • Benjamin Clark
  • Chad Hilligus
  • David "Billy the" Kidd (1998-12 / 2007; 2011)
  • Jack Fowles
  • Thomas David Birch
  • Jordan S. Pollard
  • Boyd Owen
  • Luke "Kenlee" Kennedy
  • Dion Molinas (until mid-2011)
  • Stewart "Sancho" Morris (until mid-2011)
  • Graham Foote (May 2011)
  • Steven Sowden (mid 2010)
  • Tod Strike (until 2005, from 2008 to the end of 2009)
  • Jeff Teale (late 2009)
  • Josh (JP) Pitermann (mid 2009)
  • Drew "Creamy Goodness" Graham (until March 2009; substitute singer of the Germany tour 2011)
  • Jason "Shorty" Short (until the end of 2008)
  • Craig "Chendry" Hendry (until the end of 2008)
  • Shannon Brown (until mid-2008)
  • Liam McLachlan (until mid-2008)
  • Adrian "Gary" Phillips (2005-2007)
  • Jason "Chopper" Turnbull (until early 2006, early 2007 with on tour in Australia)
  • Craig "Burce" Atkinson (1998-2006, one week in October 2009 on tour in Germany)
  • Andrew "Fetch" Pryor (until 2003 / substitute singer on the US tour 2005)
  • Dominic "Panda" Smith (1998–2005 substitute singer of the 2007 German tour, 2008–2011 back in the regular cast)
  • Nathan "Merten" Kneen (1998-2003 substitute singer on the 2005 Christmas tour)
  • Bradley McCaw (substitute singer 2004)
  • Matthew "Bryan" Hickey (until 2003, then "Artistic Director")
  • George Forgan-Smith
  • Kim Kirkman (founding member, until 2001)
  • Roger Davy
  • Gordon Harris
  • Rosario La Spina
  • Nick Mc Dougall
  • Greg Moore
  • Kent Maddock
  • Bernard Wheaton
  • Scott Harrison
  • Adam Lopez
  • Shaun Brown

Musician

  • Michael "Flash" Manikus (keyboard / piano since 2002)

as well as occasionally changing bassists and drummers

former musician
  • Béla Piri (bass on the German Nostalgica Tour 2008)
  • Nick Hatch (drums since early 2006, March 2009-late 2010)
  • Joseph Marchisella (drums on the German Nostalgica Tour 2008)
  • Julia de Plater (piano)
  • Demis Lyall-Wilson (Keyboard 2002 to 2004)
  • John Turnbull (bass)
  • Jeremy O'Connor (bass in summer and winter 2005)
  • Ruben Ramos (bass in autumn 2005)
  • Darran Muller (drums in summer and winter 2005)
  • Tim Curle (drums in autumn 2005)
  • Dr. Steven Baker (piano / keyboard until 2007)
  • Chris Pearson (bass since early 2006)
  • Craig Hendry (keyboard, later used as tenor)

Discography

CD

  • Tenorissimo (1998)
  • Colors (1999)
  • Untied (2001) - Australia & New Zealand
  • One Is Not Enough (2002) - “Untied” for the German, Austrian, Swiss, Dutch and Danish markets, available as normal and “special edition”
  • Larger Than Life (2004) - contained a live CD in the D / AUS / CH version and a live DVD in the USA version, also available as a "special edition" around Christmas 04
  • TENOLOGY (2005) - "Best of" of the previous albums, also available in the "Limited Christmas Edition" (December 2005 & 2006, see below) and "Mother's Day Edition" (March 06)
  • A Not so Silent Night (2001/2005) - the updated version of the 2001 edition was released in November 2005 in Germany, Switzerland and Austria and was only available there at concerts of the tour of the same name. At the same time it was released as a bonus CD in the TENOLOGY Limited Christmas Edition in the USA.
  • Here's to the Heroes (2006) - appeared with a time delay across Europe, in Australia and New Zealand and in the USA
  • Nostalgica (2008) - Classical songs like What a Wonderful World or Over the Rainbow
  • Amigos Para Siempre (2009) - Classical Songs (revised version of Nostalgica)
  • Double Platinum (2011) 2 CD
  • On Broadway, Vol. 1 (2014)
  • Wish You Were Here (2017)
  • Love Is in the Air (2019)

Video / DVD:

  • Colors (VHS, 2000) - Australia & New Zealand
  • One Is Not Enough (DVD, 2002) - Germany, Austria & Switzerland
  • Larger Than Life (DVD, 2004) - USA, Canada & Australia
  • Here's to the Heroes - A Night with the Ten Tenors (DVD, 2006) - Germany
  • Amigos Para Siempre (DVD, 2009) - Spain & Germany - Classic songs like Moon River , Who Wants To Live Forever or The Boxer

Web links