The Texas Tenors a State Treasure

BY DAVID HENDRICKS : MARCH 22, 2014

SAN ANTONIO — Do The Texas Tenors sing better when performing in Texas?

The vocal trio from Houston certainly sounded in top form Friday night for the San Antonio Symphony Pops concert before 1,600 fans at Trinity University‘s Laurie Auditorium.

The singers’ stardom dates back to their 2009 appearances on television’s “America’s Got Talent.” They displayed a video during the concert to prove it. They’ve since performed hundreds of concerts around the world and sing regularly in Branson, Mo.

The key to their popularity is the wide range of repertory, spanning country/western, gospel, opera and Broadway hits. They added some Texas flavor to their San Antonio show, especially with “Deep in the Heart of Texas.”

Marcus Collins is the pop singer of the group. John Hagen specializes in opera, and JC Fisher shines in country/western. But they sing together with lustrous harmonization in their own arrangements.

Their show was one audience-pleaser after another.

Opera hits included the Neapolitan song “O Sole Mio” and the famous Turandot aria, “Nessun Dorma.” Gospel was represented with “He Looked Beyond My Fault” and the contemporary hymn, “You Raise Me Up.”

The program turned patriotic with Lee Greenwood‘s “God Bless the U.S.A.” with the audience standing, as traditional.

John Denver hits “Country Boy” and “Country Roads” added the western songs, while Broadway hits “Music of the Night” from Phantom of the Opera and West Side Story’s “Somewhere” rounded out the show’s variety.

The singers entertained with banter between songs mostly along a script that can also be seen from a Phoenix concert last year on an online video.

The orchestra showed off its talent sans the singers with movie themes from “The Magnificent Seven” and “Silverado,” under the direction of Akiko Fujimoto.

Videos on a screen above the orchestra enhanced many of the musical selections.