By Ryan Thompson
Number one selling operatic trio Tenors Unlimited, the ‘Rat Pack of Opera’ perform at Corn Exchange Newbury with local choir Sing For Fun, on Friday 21 September 19:45 with new show as part of 15th anniversary tour.
This is fresh from their recent chart-topping success with “Who is He?” in aid of The Salvation Army which went in at number one on the iTunes classical chart.
Tenors Unlimited have performed alongside such notables as Sting, Lionel Richie, Beyoncé, Hayley Westenra, Simply Red and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to name a few. In January, they toured the USA and in March performed in Estonia. Using talents honed in their previous solo careers in opera and theatre, they bring their own blend of wit, humour, charm and vocal arrangements to their performances.
To celebrate 15 years together, Scott Ciscon, Jem Sharples and Paul Martin have assembled a fabulous mix of songs in their new show “In Concert With Tenors Unlimited” ranging from opera, pop and crooner classics, as well as old favourites. These include Everything (Michael Buble), Unchained Melody (Righteous Brothers), Nella Fantasia, Recipe For Love (Harry Connick Junior), The Pearl Fishers Duet and Nessun Dorma. The group’s repertoire includes songs written by the group themselves such as “Carry You” composed by Paul Martin in aid of charity Harrison’s Fund.
Jem Sharples says “We’ve selected a special collection of songs to mark our 15 years together. These range from those we sang at the outset such as Nessun Dorma and Nella Fantasia, as well as our favourite songs. We mix these with modern pop songs such as ‘Everything’ and crooner numbers such as “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.” We love singing songs we’ve written ourselves from Brand New Day, Viva La Vita, Senza di Te and Carry You.”
Founded by Jane Dunton, local Newbury choir Sing For Fun has performed on several occasions at Highclere Castle (aka Downton Abbey) including a performance in the presence of Royalty and the cast of Downton Abbey. The choir has performed on the main bandstand at the annual Royal Berkshire County show since 2008.
It all began in 2003 when Jem and Scott met each other at an audition. It wasn’t long before Paul joined them and they planned their own take on the popular classical genre and to expand on the perception of what a 21st century tenor could be. The idea was simple: choose some of the most iconic songs across a variety of genres, stay true to the melody and incorporate rich harmonies to create their own sound. Since then, Scott Ciscon (tenor,) Paul Martin (bass-baritone) & Jem Sharples (tenor) have performed all across the globe and are the UK’s original classical-crossover ‘man-band.’ Tenors Unlimited sang at the memorial service for football legend Sir Bobby Robson and sang live at Wembley Stadium at the FA Cup final.
Born in Chicago, USA, Scott started off his career in London’s West End. Following a series of understudy parts, Scott went on to star in well known musicals including; Grease, Rent and Saturday Night Fever.
Born in Sutton Coldfield, Paul started his career in opera after graduating. He joined Tenors Unlimited while singing in the Netherlands.
After training in the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Jem started his career in theatre, touring the country as in variety of roles from various plays including; Alex Dillingham (‘Aspects of Love’), PT Barnum (‘Barnum’) and young Scrooge in ‘Scrooge’.
Their latest album “The Journey” can be purchased online from their web site www.tenorsunlimited.com via iTunes, Amazon and GooglePlay.
For more information about the trio and other tour dates in the UK, visit www.tenorsunlimited.com
To book tickets, visit www.tenorsunlimited.com/tour