The Tenors (formerly known as The Canadian Tenors) are a vocal group consisting of Victor Micallef, Clifton Murray, Eduardo Aguirre, and Mark Masri. They perform operatic pop music that is a mixture of classical and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

, featuring songs such as " The Prayer", ''

Panis angelicus (Latin for "Bread of Angels" or "Angelic Bread") is the penultimate stanza of the hymn "" 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 o ...

'', and

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

's ''

Hallelujah ''Hallelujah'' (; , Modern ) is an interjection from the Hebrew language, used as an expression of gratitude to God. The term is used 24 times in the Tanakh (in the book of Psalms), twice in deuterocanonical books, and four times in the Christ ...

.'' Originating from Canada, Micallef and Masri from

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Urso from Sicily, and Murray from

Port McNeill Port McNeill is a town in the North Island region of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada on Vancouver Island's northeast shore, on Queen Charlotte Strait. Originally a base camp for loggers, it became a settlement in 1936. It was named ...

, the Tenors have performed on more than 60 international television programs. They appeared on

the Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The show ran for twenty-five seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in which it broadcast 4,561 episodes. The show was taped i ...

with

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...

in 2010, at the opening ceremonies of the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

in Vancouver, at the

63rd Primetime Emmy Awards The 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards, honoring the best in prime time television programming from June 1, 2010, until May 31, 2011, were held on Sunday, September 18, 2011, at the Nokia Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, California. Fox televised the ...

in 2011, and on ITV's Diamond Jubilee Show at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

for

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

in 2012. They also appeared on the

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

and

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

broadcasts, on

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

Television's ''Holiday Festival of Ice'', and at the 85th Annual Rockefeller Tree Lighting which aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

on November 29, 2017. The venues they have performed in include

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

, the Israeli Opera House in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

, and the

Mandalay Bay Events Center The Michelob Ultra Arena, formerly the Mandalay Bay Events Center, is a 12,000-seat multi-purpose indoor arena at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by MGM Resorts Int ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. They have shared the stage with

Sarah McLachlan Sarah Ann McLachlan (born January 28, 1968) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. As of 2015, she had sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is ''Surfacing (album), Surfacing'' (1997), for which she won two G ...

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Paul Anka Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter and actor. His songs include " Diana", “ You Are My Destiny", “Lonely Boy", " Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and " (You're) Having My Baby". Anka also wr ...

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...

Charice Jake Zyrus (; born 10 May 1992), formerly known professionally as Charice Pempengco () and under the mononym Charice, is a Filipino singer and television personality. In 2007, after competing in many singing competitions and several appea ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

Brian McKnight Brian Kainoa Makoa McKnight Sr. (born Brian Kelly McKnight; June 5, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, record producer, radio personality, and multi-instrumentalist. An Contemporary R&B, R&B performer, he is recognized for his strong ...

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, and

Jackie Evancho Jacqueline Marie Evancho ( ; born April 9, 2000) is an American singer who gained wide recognition at an early age, singing primarily crossover music#Classical crossover, classical crossover covers. Since 2009, she has issued nine albums, a pla ...

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

released their platinum-selling self-titled debut album and double-platinum holiday album, ''The Perfect Gift'', in November 2009. The Tenors filmed a

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

special at the

Smith Center for the Performing Arts The Smith Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts center located at Symphony Park in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. Consisting of three theaters in two buildings, the performing arts center is designed in the Neo Art Deco style. The ...

that began airing in 2012. The Canadian Tenors were renamed The Tenors in November 2012 in advance of their third album, ''Lead with Your Heart.'' Also in 2012, The Tenors signed a US distribution deal with

Verve Records Verve Records is an active American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Ca ...

. ''Lead with Your Heart'' went platinum in Canada in seven weeks. The album garnered a 2013

JUNO Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

for Adult Contemporary Album of the Year and a JUNO nomination for the Jack Richardson Producer of the Year Award for

Bob Ezrin Robert Alan Ezrin (born March 25, 1949) is a Canadian music producer and keyboardist, best known for his work with Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Kiss, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Peter Gabriel, Andrea Bocelli and Phish. As of 2010, Ezri ...

's production of " Forever Young". ''Lead with Your Heart'' was featured on

Katie Katie is an English female name. It is a form of Katherine, Kate, Caitlin, Kathleen, Katey and their related forms. It is frequently used on its own. People Sports * Katie Boulter (born 1996), British tennis player * Katie Clark (born 1994), ...

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...

Access Hollywood ''Access Hollywood'', briefly known as ''Access'' from 2017 to 2019, is an American weekday television entertainment news program that premiered on September 9, 1996. It covers events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was create ...

ET Canada ''Entertainment Tonight Canada'' (commonly shortened to ''ET Canada'') is a Canadian entertainment news television series that aired on the Global Television Network from 2005 to 2023. Its branding and format were based on the American entertainm ...

, CNN Morning Live, e-Talk and

FOX & Friends ''Fox & Friends'' is an American daily morning conservative news and talk program that airs on Fox News and reruns on Fox.Thompson, Ethan, and Jason Mittell. "Fox & Friends: Political Talk." ''How to Watch Television.'' 168-76. Print. It premie ...

. With the departure of Fraser Walters from the group in July 2022, The Tenors add Canada's Mark Masri and Italy's Alberto Urso in August to continue as 4 singers.

Career

Origin

The group was the creation of Jill Ann Siemens, originally as a trio (Philip Grant, Paul Ouellette, and Ken Lavigne) and debuted in 2004 in Victoria. In 2005, a new re-envisioned group consisting of Craig Ashton, Joey Niceforo and Leon Leontaridis released their self-titled debut ''The Canadian Tenors'' (

Warner Warner can refer to: People * Warner (writer) * Warner (given name) * Warner (surname) Fictional characters * Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner, stars of the animated television series ''Animaniacs'' * Aaron Warner, a character in '' Shatter M ...

). Siemens then did a cross-Canada search to find four new voices and chose Micallef, Remigio Pereira, Walters, and Jamie McKnight. They released their second self-titled album ''The Canadian Tenors'' in 2009. Walters, Micallef, and Pereira sang a repertoire of popular and classical music together for seven years. In January 2009 Clifton Murray replaced Jamie McKnight.

2009–2011: ''The Perfect Gift''

The band released their first holiday album ''The Perfect Gift'' on November 3, 2009, which was later certified platinum by

Music Canada Music Canada is a non-profit Industry trade group, trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 in Toronto to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It also offers benefits to s ...

. In September of that year, the group toured with

as the opening act. They performed ''

O Canada "O Canada" () is the national anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony; Calixa Lavallée composed the music, after which French- ...

'' at the 2009

game. On February 10, 2010, the Tenors appeared on

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The show ran for twenty-five seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in which it broadcast 4,561 episodes. The show was taped i ...

. Unbeknownst to them, Oprah Winfrey had arranged for a surprise; midway through their rendition of "Hallelujah",

came onstage and sang the rest of the song with the group. ''The Perfect Gift'' was released in the US on October 12, 2010, and has since peaked at #7 on the

Top Holiday Albums Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' magazine only Record chart, charted Christmas Single (music), singles and albums along with the other popular non-holiday Phonograph record, records until the 1958 Christmas and holiday season, holiday season w ...

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,

, and

. The Canadian Tenors appeared at the 2011 Emmy Awards, performing a version of

's song "Hallelujah". Another special called ''Season of Song'' featuring the Tenors aired December 14, 2011, attracting 743,000 viewers.

2012–2014: ''Lead with Your Heart''

The band announced on July 25, 2012, that they were signed by

. The group's third album ''Lead with Your Heart'' was released in Canada on October 9, 2012, through Universal Music Canada. ''Lead with Your Heart'' is a 12- track classical crossover album. It includes covers of Forever Young,

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn written in 1772 and published in 1779 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is possibly the most sung and most recorded hymn in the world, and especially popular in the Unit ...

and Nessun Dorma. The album also includes new compositions written by The Tenors. Walter Afanasieff, Bob Ezrin, and Marco Marinangeli have production and co-writing credits on the album. The album's first single " I Believe" was released on

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

on July 24, 2012 and was sampled on CTV during the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. The album was released in the United States on January 15, 2013, and debuted at No. 1 on the Classical Crossover Albums chart and No. 21 on Billboard 200, selling 16,000 copies in its first week. The group was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal () or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. There are four versions of the medal: one iss ...

on January 24, 2013. On August 2, 2013, ''Lead with Your Heart'' was released in the United Kingdom. Later that year The Tenors appeared on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...

. In October 2013, The Tenors released the single "I Thank You" with

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to "create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth". Adult volunteers are matched with children from ag ...

spokesperson and

Miss America 2012 Miss America 2012 was the 85th Miss America pageant, held at the Theatre for the Performing Arts of Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 14, 2012. Teresa Scanlan of Nebraska crowned her Laura Kaeppeler of Wisco ...

Laura Kaeppeler Laura Marie Kaeppeler (born March 2, 1988) is an American beauty pageant titleholder crowned Miss America 2012 on January 14, 2012, representing the state of Wisconsin. Kaeppeler was the first woman representing Wisconsin to win Miss America sin ...

to benefit

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada is a non-profit federation charity offering a youth mentoring program, founded in 1913. The Big Brothers Big Sisters movement in Canada provides services to 41,700 youths. Programs Big Brothers Big Sisters ag ...

. Conceived by Kenny Munshaw and co-written with The Tenors and Marc Jordan, "I Thank You" was recorded in London and produced by

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

nominated producer and songwriter Sacha Skarbek.

2015–2016: ''Under One Sky''

The Tenors recorded their second PBS Special on March 12, 2015, at

Caesars Windsor Caesars Windsor (formerly known as Casino Windsor) is a casino hotel located in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is one of four casino resort hotels in the Detroit–Windsor area and was opened in May 1994 as a temporary casino on the waterfront of th ...

in Windsor, Ontario, featuring their new album, ''Under One Sky''. The CD was released in Canada on May 4, 2015 and hit number one on iTunes within days. In the US, the release date was held back a month, to coincide with the June 2015 release of the PBS special to public television stations. ''Under One Sky'' features both original and re-recorded songs, and was well received at the PBS taping by a live, international audience. The PBS Special DVD was pre-released on May 13, 2015, for June 6 shipping. An 18-date ''Under One Sky'' tour of Canada was announced in April 2015 to promote the new album.

MLB 2016 All-Star Game controversy

In July 2016, Remigio Pereira was removed from the group after he altered the lyrics to the Canadian national anthem at the

2016 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 2016 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 87th edition of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The game was hosted by the San Diego Padres and was played at Petco Park on July 12, 2016. It was televised nationally on Fox. The Ame ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

—from "With glowing hearts we see thee rise, the True North strong and free," to "We're all brothers and sisters, all lives matter to the great", and held up a sign with the phrase.

2019 NBA Finals

The Tenors became the first act to perform "O Canada" at an

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...

game, on May 30, 2019 at

Scotiabank Arena Scotiabank Arena (SBA), formerly known as Air Canada Centre (ACC), is a multi-purposed arena located on Bay Street in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the home of the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and t ...

in Toronto.

2022

Mark Masri and Italian singer Alberto Urso joined the group after Fraser Walters' departure.

2024

In September 2024, they performed the American and Canadian national anthems with pop singer Rêve during the

2024 Presidents Cup The 2024 Presidents Cup was the 15th edition of the Presidents Cup golf competition, held September 26 to 29 at Royal Montreal Golf Club in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Royal Montreal previously hosted in 2007 Team USA won the cup for their ten ...

opening ceremony. Eduardo Aguirre joined the group.

2025

In March of 2025, they performed at Muzika Muzika in Malta.

Discography

Albums

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tenors, The Musical groups established in 2007 Musical groups from Victoria, British Columbia Canadian pop music groups 21st-century Canadian male opera singers Canadian tenors 2007 establishments in British Columbia Tenor vocal groups Juno Award for Adult Contemporary Album of the Year winners