With
their numerous accomplishments to date, and more on the horizon as we approach a new year, the Canadian
Tenors continue to show just how far classical music has come, and just how far this particular genre can
go.
In addition to their most notable high moments — namely their show with David Foster featuring a surprise
appearance by Sarah McLachlan at Vancouver’s GM Place, and their performance on Oprah earlier this year with
surprise guest Celine Dion — the group’s performance at the 2010 Olympic opening ceremony before 50,000
people, singing the national anthem at this year’s NBA All-Star Game in front of 108,000 basketball fans and
their recent makeshift concert in Bulembu, Africa with a children’s choir are equally as sentimental.
Regardless of all the once-in-a-lifetime moments, it is ultimately having what newest member Clifton Murray
calls “an attitude of gratitude” that renders being a part of Canadian Tenors a truly satisfying
experience.
Fraser Walters, Remigio Pereira, Victor Micallef and Clifton Murray are the Canadian Tenors. Coming from
diverse backgrounds and training, these four debonair gentlemen are almost a microcosm for Canada as a whole:
an eclectic melting pot, of culture and song.
Murray joined in early 2009. He is the only member of the quartet who is a pop-rock singer, adding a fresh
appeal to the group.
“They’ve been doing it themselves for three and a half years; the three of them are classically trained,”
explains Murray, “and they were looking for a pop-rock singer, not an operatic classical-style singer.”
Although he was at first doubtful about his place amongst the other members in the group, it wasn’t long
before Murray knew being a Tenor was his calling. “Being an outsider and seeing all this training, there’s
going to be questions and doubts,” he says. “[But] I chose early on to believe I was meant for this group,
and that through hard work, perseverance and self-belief I was going to make [it].” Switching gears from
Tenor to an inspirational speaker, Murray enthusiastically exclaims, “I made the choice every day… that today
I’m going to take this opportunity to affect my own reality… If you really believe in
something and you buckle down and give it your all, dreams do come true. And I really feel my dream came
true.”
This level of optimism mirrors the message the group wishes to convey through their music, albeit on a much
larger scale. In additional to being classical and pop-rock, Murray describes the Tenors’ music as also
“inspirational.” “We all feel that there is a connection with the audience when we perform these songs,”
explains Murray. “Sometimes people will come up to us after a show, and have lost a loved one and have been
unable to grieve properly, and our music has allowed them to let go of the burden or guilt they may feel, and
[has helped] them to grieve.”
In speaking for the group, Murray says that one of the Tenors’ main goals with their music is to use their
individual vocal gifts to support charitable causes, and hopefully encourage their fans to contribute in any
way they can. “Look inside yourself and believe in a better world and a better self [and] to see what you can
do to help.” As Murray notes, “Everybody has something they can do to make this world a better place,” and
for him and the other three vocalists, that “something” is their voices.
The Tenors have taken their operatic voices one step further by participating in “Voices for Bulembu,” an
event that brings awareness to the restoration of the town in Swaziland abandoned by Africa’s mining industry
in 2001. The country itself has long been ravaged by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, resulting in an orphan crisis.
Just this year on Sept. 17 to 19, the campaign raised a remarkable $1.25 million toward the building of an
orphanage and a water-bottling plant.
In addition to Voices for Bulembu, the Tenors actively use their voices to support several children’s
charities, including ONEXONE, a non-profit organization that works to support, preserve and improve the lives
of children in the U.S., Canada and around the world. The group has also performed — alongside the Dalai Lama
— for 20,000 youth at Free The Children’s “We Day,” an event that is part of an innovative year-long program
created to celebrate the power of young people to drive positive change in the world. As Murray notes,
“Charity will always be a part of [the Tenors].”
And with only 45 days off a year, the Tenors perhaps regard the holidays as an opportune time to give back to
their family and friends. Murray excitedly exclaims “Family!” when asked what his holiday plans are for this
year, and rightfully so, as being in a successful music group renders family time close to non-existent. Once
the Tenors’ current tour wraps up in Houston, Texas on Dec. 21, Murray will be flying to his parents’ home in
his native Port McNeill on the north end of Vancouver Island where his entire family will be congregated.
As for an ideal winter getaway this year, heli-skiing in the interior of British Columbia and snowboarding in
Whistler are at the top of Murray’s list. And maybe even “a nice log cabin or resort in the Alps of
Switzerland or at the Fairmont in Banff.”
So although Clifton, Victor, Remigio and Fraser will be taking a short break from their Tenor lives this
holiday season, that isn’t to say their work is slowing down by any means. Currently writing and
collaborating, the Tenors are working on their sophomore album due out sometime in late 2011, and are eagerly
anticipating having their own music available for fans to hear. With new songs in the works, you can expect
to hear much more from these four fine gentlemen as they further demonstrate not only their Canadian but also
international appeal. •
