The Canadian Tenors
Encyclopedia
The Canadian Tenors are a vocal quartet (originally a vocal trio) consisting of Remigio Pereira, Victor Micallef, Fraser Walters, and Clifton Murray, with Murray replacing earlier member Jamie McKnight. They perform music that is a mixture of classical
and pop
, featuring songs such as The Prayer and Panis Angelicus
from the former genre, and Leonard Cohen
's Hallelujah from the latter. The venues they have performed in include the Tel Aviv Opera House, and the Mandalay Bay Events Center
in Las Vegas
. They have also appeared on the 2009 Grey Cup
broadcast and on CBC
Television’s “Holiday Festival of Ice”.
The group started as a trio (Philip Grant, Paul Ouellette and Ken Lavigne) and debuted in 2004 in Victoria. Over the next two years, six tenors quit or were fired. (Reference: Victoria Times Colonist, July 5, 2006). Siemens then did a cross-Canada search to find four new voices, and chose Micallef, Pereira, Walters and Jamie McKnight.
A first album, The Canadian Tenors, was produced in 2005; singers at that time were Joey Niceforo, Craig Ashton and Leon Leontaridis. (Joey, Leon and another former Canadian Tenor, Giovanni Amenta, resigned over business differences and have since founded Destino, with Paul Ouellette) (Reference: Victoria Times Colonist, July 5, 2006).
In 2007, Peter McCutcheon joined the group and together the foursome performed at the opening ceremonies for the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). McCutcheon was later replaced by Jamie McKnight.
In January 2009, McKnight left the group, and Murray was tapped as his replacement. The official reason given for McKnight's exit was his desire to focus on musical theater.
as the opening act. They performed O Canada
at the 2009 Grey Cup
game. On February 10, 2010, the Tenors appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show
and sang "Hallelujah" alongside Celine Dion
.
The group has currently sold more than 120,000 albums around Canada, and nearly 30,000 copies around the U.S.
The band's Christmas album, The Perfect Gift, was released in the US October 30, 2010, and has since peaked at #7 on the Top Holiday Albums Chart.
On December 13, 2010, The group performed during a holiday special called Canadian Tenors and Friends, which drew 957,000 viewers. The performance included the Tenors, Justin Bieber
, and Jackie Evancho
.
The Canadian Tenors appeared at the 2011 Emmy Awards, performing a version of Leonard Cohen's song "Hallelujah."
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
and pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, featuring songs such as The Prayer and Panis Angelicus
Panis Angelicus
Panis angelicus is the penultimate strophe of the hymn Sacris solemniis written by Saint Thomas Aquinas for the Feast of Corpus Christi as part of a complete liturgy of the Feast including prayers for the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours....
from the former genre, and Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
's Hallelujah from the latter. The venues they have performed in include the Tel Aviv Opera House, and the Mandalay Bay Events Center
Mandalay Bay Events Center
Mandalay Bay Events Center is a 12,000 seat indoor arena, at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, on the Las Vegas Strip, in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned by MGM Resorts International.It has hosted many music, boxing and mixed martial arts events....
in Las Vegas
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
. They have also appeared on the 2009 Grey Cup
Grey Cup
The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...
broadcast and on CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
Television’s “Holiday Festival of Ice”.
Origin
The group was the creation of Jill Ann Siemens, who first had the concept of the group back in 2003. There was a series of tries over the next four years with a number of people and voices until they found the ideal mix.The group started as a trio (Philip Grant, Paul Ouellette and Ken Lavigne) and debuted in 2004 in Victoria. Over the next two years, six tenors quit or were fired. (Reference: Victoria Times Colonist, July 5, 2006). Siemens then did a cross-Canada search to find four new voices, and chose Micallef, Pereira, Walters and Jamie McKnight.
A first album, The Canadian Tenors, was produced in 2005; singers at that time were Joey Niceforo, Craig Ashton and Leon Leontaridis. (Joey, Leon and another former Canadian Tenor, Giovanni Amenta, resigned over business differences and have since founded Destino, with Paul Ouellette) (Reference: Victoria Times Colonist, July 5, 2006).
In 2007, Peter McCutcheon joined the group and together the foursome performed at the opening ceremonies for the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). McCutcheon was later replaced by Jamie McKnight.
In January 2009, McKnight left the group, and Murray was tapped as his replacement. The official reason given for McKnight's exit was his desire to focus on musical theater.
2009-present
In September of that year, the group toured with David FosterDavid Foster
David Walter Foster, OC, OBC , is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter, and arranger, noted for discovering singers such as Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, and Charice Pempengco; and for producing some of the most successful artists in the world, such as Céline Dion, Toni...
as the opening act. They performed O Canada
O Canada
It has been noted that the opening theme of "O Canada" bears a strong resemblance to the "Marsch der Priester" , from the opera Die Zauberflöte , composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and that Lavallée's melody was inspired by Mozart's tune...
at the 2009 Grey Cup
Grey Cup
The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...
game. On February 10, 2010, the Tenors appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
and sang "Hallelujah" alongside Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
.
The group has currently sold more than 120,000 albums around Canada, and nearly 30,000 copies around the U.S.
The band's Christmas album, The Perfect Gift, was released in the US October 30, 2010, and has since peaked at #7 on the Top Holiday Albums Chart.
On December 13, 2010, The group performed during a holiday special called Canadian Tenors and Friends, which drew 957,000 viewers. The performance included the Tenors, Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber is a Canadian pop/R&B singer, songwriter and actor. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who came across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager...
, and Jackie Evancho
Jackie Evancho
Jacqueline Marie "Jackie" Evancho is an American child singer described as a classical crossover artist. After entering some talent competitions, issuing an independent album, Prelude to a Dream, and attracting interest on YouTube, she gained wider popularity in 2010 with her performances in the...
.
The Canadian Tenors appeared at the 2011 Emmy Awards, performing a version of Leonard Cohen's song "Hallelujah."
Albums
| Year | Album | Peak positions | Sales | Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales threshold) |
||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US Class |
US Digital |
US Christ |
US Holiday |
CAN Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
CAN Class |
DU | |||||||
| 2009 | The Canadian Tenors
|
49 | 1 | 24 | 2 | — | 22 | 2 | 15 |
|
Cria A cria is the name for a baby camelid such as a llama, alpaca, vicuña, or guanaco. It comes from the Spanish word cría, meaning "baby". Its false cognate in English, crya , was coined by British sailors who explored Chile in the 18th century and were quick to describe the camelids onomatopoeically... : Platinum |
|||
| 2010 | The Perfect Gift
|
200 | 1 | — | — | 7 | — | 3 | — |
|
|
|||
| "—" denotes the album didn't chart. | ||||||||||||||
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US Vocal |
CAN Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
CAN Vocal |
NL | ||||
| 2008 | "The Prayer" | — | 5 | — | 6 | — | The Canadian Tenors | |
| "Hallelujah" | 99 | 1 | — | 1 | 39 | |||
| 2010 | "Belle" | — | — | — | 84 | — | ||
| "—" denotes the single didn't chart. | ||||||||