'We were asked to sing God Save The Queen...by the Queen'
We are enjoying breakfast at the Langham Hotel when it happens. The Tenors – formerly known as The Canadian Tenors – are telling me about their new album when a casual yet charismatic man strides over. ‘Guys,’ he says, ‘sorry to disturb you. I just have to say that your version of Hallelujah is the best I’ve ever heard. The absolute best.’
Clifton Murray, Fraser Walters, Victor Micallef and Remigio Pereira express their thanks, and the man takes his leave. It transpires that he is Eric Weinstein, a Hollywood producer and friend of the actor Mark Wahlberg (with whom he is in town) and, as it appears, he is a huge fan of The Tenors.
Mr Weinstein is not alone. This handsome quartet from Canada has spent the past few years amassing a huge fan base, which even includes our own Royal Family. In fact, with four Royal engagements under their belt, the Duke of Edinburgh recently quipped that they have become ‘the Buckingham Palace house band’.
‘The Duke of Edinburgh always has some wisecrack,’ says Fraser (a handsome, blond singer from Vancouver), ‘he’s a very funny guy.’ The group can speak with real familiarity because not only have they performed at the huge shows such as the Diamond Jubilee Concert, but the Queen was so taken by their music that she requested them to sing at a small, intimate tea she was hosting.
‘Singing at the Jubilee celebration was extraordinary. The arena, the horses, the fireworks… it was such a big spectacle. But being in a small room with her is something else. We got to chat to her and she’s a very sweet woman,’ says Victor, who is also Canadian, but whose accent carries a hint of his Maltese ancestry.
‘There’s so much preparation beforehand to address her properly,’ adds Clifton, the newest member of the group (who has more than a passing resemblance to fellow Canadian, Michael Bublé). ‘You’re told not to extend your hand, and not push the conversation, but that all goes out the window when you actually meet her. She is very relaxed.’
The group remembers fondly a scene in which Her Majesty was caught on camera during one of their performances, ‘Leaning forward with a massive grin on her face, clapping fanatically while we’re singing a high note. It was pretty awesome as she doesn’t make a lot of expressions,especially on television,’ adds Clifton.
In fact, the Queen has even been known to make specific musical requests, at one point causing the foursome to be the most nervous they have ever felt.
‘It was the morning before a performance when her butler called and said that since we’re in the motherland, Her Majesty feels it appropriate that we sing God Save The Queen. But we didn’t know the words. We put our heads together and created a fourpart arrangement in the car on the way to Windsor Castle, and sung it over and over again for an hour.
‘We often joke that the taxi driver had never felt so patriotic,’ laughs Remmie – short for Remigio. In characteristic style, the performance went off without a hitch and Her Majesty was delighted.
‘It’s not lost on us how unique an opportunity it is,’ says Fraser. ‘It’s the Queen after all. She’s on our money!’
In some ways, the success of The Tenors has taken them by surprise. Although they all hail from musical backgrounds (Clifton was a solo artist, Fraser was in a Grammy-nominated a cappella group, Victor studied at the Florence Opera House and Remmie is an esteemed music producer), none of them anticipated their careers developing in the notoriously divisive ‘crossover’ genre.
‘I never imagined the possibility of being in a tenor group, because I also believed that stereotype of a singer wearing a tuxedo, singing nothing but classical music,’ says Clifton.
Although like many tenor groups before them – Il Divo, The Ten Tenors and The Celtic Tenors – the foursome was purposefully brought together, but that’s where the typecasting ends. ‘The group is set up more like a band,’ Clifton goes on to say, ‘in that we are all songwriters and we all play instruments.’
Far from simply regurgitating standard arias, they make a point of creating their own material, and have included four original songs on their new album, Lead With Your Heart. ‘We don’t have anyone at the top telling us what to do and what to sing, so the creative buck stops with us.’
That’s not to say, however, that they don’t stray into classical territory from time to time. Their album also includes a version of Nessun Dorma, and they have received standing ovations for operatic performances. The point is that they don’t want to be pigeonholed. ‘You’ve got to remind people that tenors come in many forms,’ explains Fraser. ‘Freddie Mercury, Steven Tyler, Sting… They’re all tenors. It describes a vocal range, rather than a style.’
The dropping of the ‘Canadian’ from their name is also a deliberate progression.
‘It was something we discussed for quite some time. We found that people were automatically calling us The Tenors anyway, and we were enjoying the fact that people from around th
e world were taking ownership of us as their tenors, not just the Canadians,’ says Fraser. With a fan base that comprises ‘six- to 96-year-olds’, Hollywood producers and of course, Her Majesty, it is clear that The Tenors will be challenging classical perceptions for some time to come. ‘Our music is healing, uplifting and positive,’ states Clifton.
‘We hear stories about how it has affected people’s lives and as cheesy as it sounds, it is that relationship with the audience that decides the path we take.
‘Classical, mainstream or whatever, we want our music to be inspirational.’
Well, hallelujah to that.
Lead With Your Heart by The Tenors is out now on Decca Records.
Clifton Murray, Fraser Walters, Victor Micallef and Remigio Pereira express their thanks, and the man takes his leave. It transpires that he is Eric Weinstein, a Hollywood producer and friend of the actor Mark Wahlberg (with whom he is in town) and, as it appears, he is a huge fan of The Tenors.
Mr Weinstein is not alone. This handsome quartet from Canada has spent the past few years amassing a huge fan base, which even includes our own Royal Family. In fact, with four Royal engagements under their belt, the Duke of Edinburgh recently quipped that they have become ‘the Buckingham Palace house band’.
‘The Duke of Edinburgh always has some wisecrack,’ says Fraser (a handsome, blond singer from Vancouver), ‘he’s a very funny guy.’ The group can speak with real familiarity because not only have they performed at the huge shows such as the Diamond Jubilee Concert, but the Queen was so taken by their music that she requested them to sing at a small, intimate tea she was hosting.
‘Singing at the Jubilee celebration was extraordinary. The arena, the horses, the fireworks… it was such a big spectacle. But being in a small room with her is something else. We got to chat to her and she’s a very sweet woman,’ says Victor, who is also Canadian, but whose accent carries a hint of his Maltese ancestry.
‘There’s so much preparation beforehand to address her properly,’ adds Clifton, the newest member of the group (who has more than a passing resemblance to fellow Canadian, Michael Bublé). ‘You’re told not to extend your hand, and not push the conversation, but that all goes out the window when you actually meet her. She is very relaxed.’
The group remembers fondly a scene in which Her Majesty was caught on camera during one of their performances, ‘Leaning forward with a massive grin on her face, clapping fanatically while we’re singing a high note. It was pretty awesome as she doesn’t make a lot of expressions,especially on television,’ adds Clifton.
In fact, the Queen has even been known to make specific musical requests, at one point causing the foursome to be the most nervous they have ever felt.
‘It was the morning before a performance when her butler called and said that since we’re in the motherland, Her Majesty feels it appropriate that we sing God Save The Queen. But we didn’t know the words. We put our heads together and created a fourpart arrangement in the car on the way to Windsor Castle, and sung it over and over again for an hour.
‘We often joke that the taxi driver had never felt so patriotic,’ laughs Remmie – short for Remigio. In characteristic style, the performance went off without a hitch and Her Majesty was delighted.
‘It’s not lost on us how unique an opportunity it is,’ says Fraser. ‘It’s the Queen after all. She’s on our money!’
In some ways, the success of The Tenors has taken them by surprise. Although they all hail from musical backgrounds (Clifton was a solo artist, Fraser was in a Grammy-nominated a cappella group, Victor studied at the Florence Opera House and Remmie is an esteemed music producer), none of them anticipated their careers developing in the notoriously divisive ‘crossover’ genre.
‘I never imagined the possibility of being in a tenor group, because I also believed that stereotype of a singer wearing a tuxedo, singing nothing but classical music,’ says Clifton.
Although like many tenor groups before them – Il Divo, The Ten Tenors and The Celtic Tenors – the foursome was purposefully brought together, but that’s where the typecasting ends. ‘The group is set up more like a band,’ Clifton goes on to say, ‘in that we are all songwriters and we all play instruments.’
Far from simply regurgitating standard arias, they make a point of creating their own material, and have included four original songs on their new album, Lead With Your Heart. ‘We don’t have anyone at the top telling us what to do and what to sing, so the creative buck stops with us.’
That’s not to say, however, that they don’t stray into classical territory from time to time. Their album also includes a version of Nessun Dorma, and they have received standing ovations for operatic performances. The point is that they don’t want to be pigeonholed. ‘You’ve got to remind people that tenors come in many forms,’ explains Fraser. ‘Freddie Mercury, Steven Tyler, Sting… They’re all tenors. It describes a vocal range, rather than a style.’
The dropping of the ‘Canadian’ from their name is also a deliberate progression.
‘It was something we discussed for quite some time. We found that people were automatically calling us The Tenors anyway, and we were enjoying the fact that people from around th
e world were taking ownership of us as their tenors, not just the Canadians,’ says Fraser. With a fan base that comprises ‘six- to 96-year-olds’, Hollywood producers and of course, Her Majesty, it is clear that The Tenors will be challenging classical perceptions for some time to come. ‘Our music is healing, uplifting and positive,’ states Clifton.
‘We hear stories about how it has affected people’s lives and as cheesy as it sounds, it is that relationship with the audience that decides the path we take.
‘Classical, mainstream or whatever, we want our music to be inspirational.’
Well, hallelujah to that.
Lead With Your Heart by The Tenors is out now on Decca Records.