Ten Tenors turn 30

The Ten Tenors are bringing their unique blend of voices to Popejoy Hall on Sunday, Feb. 22, as part of their 30th anniversary world tour.

“The Ten Tenors is a vocal ensemble full of solo singers that come together to create really unique, special sounds,” Michael Edwards, The Ten Tenors music director, said.

He said they perform a wide range of music, including classical, pop and rock.

Cameron Barclay, The Ten Tenors choreographer, said the group subverts audience expectations.

“We’ve got people on their feet,” he said. “There’s people dancing. It’s really interactive.”

He said while The Tenors take the music seriously, interactions with the audience are informal.

“We really enjoy feeding off the audience and just making it feel like we’re just spending a night together,” he said.

He said he loves the unexpectedness and variety of being on stage.

“I love that moment when we’ve been doing some of the more serious stuff at the start, then we break out into Motown for the first time,” Barclay said.

Edwards said audiences can also expect dancing and an amazing light show, creating a full theatrical experience.

He said when planning shows, he looks for voices that can shine on their own while also creating harmony.

Barclay said the opera world is usually individualistic, but The Ten Tenors feel like a team. He hopes that camaraderie builds over the next 30 years.

“I hope that we can continue to keep that ... and still bring what we bring to people,” Barclay said.

Edwards said the group brings a mix of vocal arrangements and his favorite is The Tenors with a small string and piano accompaniment.

“It’s a really beautiful moment for us to actually sing quite gently and quietly with one another,” Edwards said, “and I think with Tenors, we think really loud and bold and rash. And it’s a really kind of quiet moment of the show for us to sing together. And it’s a really special moment for me.”

As The Ten Tenors celebrate a milestone, Edwards said the concert setlist includes a repertoire spanning the past three decades.

“It’s a big kind of celebration of all the music that we’ve done over the 30 years,” Edwards said.

Elizabeth Secor is an arts fellow from the New Mexico Local News Fellowship program. You can reach her at esecor@abqjournal.com.