The Canadian Tenors

I've discovered the marvelous music of the Canadian Tenors. The inspired vision of this group came from Canadian compsoer Jill Ann Siemans. The casting call extended across Canada and took eight-months. Remigio Pereira, Fraser Walters, Jamie Mcknight, and Victor Micallef have backgrounds as diverse as Portugal, Ireland, Scotland, and Malta, reflecting the cultural mosaic that is Canada. Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti and Jose Carreras created a global demand for beautiful music beautifully sung. There have been many tenors since then, and the Canadian Tenors are competing around the world. Learning about their story and listening to their music has me contemplating the history of Canadian musicians. Some like Mike Ford are performing public history. Bringing historical stories to light with songs like Thanadelthur, and the Oak Island Mystery. Listeners are drawn in by the music and his entertaining delivery. They learn about Vimy Ridge the the Rebellion of 1837, and the depression through music. In Ford's own literature he states that he believes "songs can be a great window into events, ideas and emotions of the past." Canada Needs You, Vol. 1 focuses on themes and personalities from pre-1905 Canada, and Vol. 2 on 20th Century in Canada. Michael Buble's rise in the music world differed from the usual trend as he was more popular in Canada than the United States. That's history now as he is known well beyond North America. His collection of awards from the last decade verify his popularity and perhaps will help to secure his place among Canada's entertainers. So how do these artists fit into history? There are parallels to talent from earlier generations for sure, but I see their lives, their careers differently as I work through archival sources, tracing down tidbits of information to complete the person I'm researching. A fact that will faithfully illuminate how it was at another time in history.