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Celtic Tenors, The

Vocal trio assembled for a one-night-only tribute to the Three Tenors at Carlow Cathedral in June 1995.  At the time, they billed themselves as the Three Irish Tenors, and comprised Paul Hennessy, James Nelson and Ronan Tynan.  After the concert, Ronan bowed out, and he was replaced by Niall Morris.  This new trio made their RTE debut on Theatre Nights in County Kildare in October 1995.

Paul left the group around the end of the decade and was supplanted by Matthew Gilsenan.  In 1999, the Three Irish Tenors played 137 dates at Clontarf Castle in Dublin, Ireland.  Pat Egan took over managerial duties and got them an audition at EMI, and they were offered a record deal on the spot.  They changed their name to The Celtic Tenors to avoid any confusion with other Irish groups, such as the similarly named Irish Tenors.

In 2000, they released their self-titled debut album, and it was a massive hit, going double-platinum in Ireland alone.  It soared to the top of the charts in Germany (where they won an Echo Award in the category of “Best Classical Crossover Act”) and their native land, went to #2 in Great Britain, and cracked the top ten on the U.S. Billboard chart.

They had the honour to perform for President Bill Clinton at a fundraiser in Dublin for the Northern Ireland Peace Fund in 2002.  On 16th March 2003, they gave a St. Patrick’s Day Concert with Deirdre Shannon at Jubilee Gardens in London, England.  They appeared at De Maagd, which is located in Bergen op Zoom, The Netherlands, in December 2004.

Niall left the group in June 2006, and his replacement was Daryl Simpson of Omagh, Northern Ireland.  They performed a concert in his hometown on 25th January 2007.  In August 2008, they participated in Milwaukee Irish Fest, along with the Milwaukee Irish Fest Choir and Omagh Community Youth Choir. They were on the road again in 2009, making stops in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and Dallas, Texas, and Madison, Wisconsin, in the U.S.

In March 2010, they appeared on the PBS special, Celtic Tenors—No Boundaries.  They were invited to perform for the Irish Consul General at his 53rd-floor penthouse apartment in Manhattan, New York, in December 2011.  In 2012, they did a mini-tour of the northeastern U.S., with stops in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Norfolk, Connecticut, and Zelienople, Pennsylvania.

Other recordings on which they appear include The Irish AlbumHard TimesRemember MeSo Strong and We Are Not Islands.

The Celtic Tenors recordings
Still By Your Side (Jimmy MacCarthy/Feargal Murray)
Telarc 80667 (CD:  Remember Me)

Sources:

  1. http://homepage.eircom.net/~jamesdnelson/tenors.html
  2. http://www.quillsquotesandnotes.com/ws-celtictenors.htm
  3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Celtic_Tenors
  4. http://www.irishmusicforever.com/bands/celtic-tenors
  5. http://www.montereyinternational.net/artists/theceltictenors
  6. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yfq9j8qYSAw
  7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergen_op_Zoom
  8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Dhabi
  9. http://my.liveireland.com/profiles/blogs/matthew-gilsenan-of-the-celtic-tenors-an-interview
  10. http://www.celtic-tenors.com/gallery
  11. http://www.last.fm/event/3323743+The+Celtic+Tenors+at+State+Theater+on+11+August+2012
  12. http://simsbury.patch.com/events/the-celtic-tenors-fee9637b
  13. http://www.ellwoodcityledger.com/news/local_news/popular-celtic-tenors-present-christmas-show-at-strand/article_9a8f7479-a883-5cd1-b114-8f0662a862c2.html