The Daily Nebraskan | Lincoln, NE – During its 14 seasons, reality competition show “America’s Got Talent” has helped launch the careers of many notable talents, including musicians Jackie Evancho and Grace VanderWaal. On Oct. 13, one of those talents will be in Lincoln when The Texas Tenors perform at the Lied Center for Performing Arts at 4 p.m.
The Texas Tenors is a vocal performance trio comprised of country singer JC Fisher, Broadway singer Marcus Collins and opera singer John Hagen. The group placed fourth on the fourth season of “America’s Got Talent,” making it the highest-placing vocal group in the history of the show.
The trio has found success after its time on “America’s Got Talent,” releasing five studio albums and three live albums. “The Texas Tenors: You Should Dream” PBS special won three Rocky Mountain Emmys in 2014.
The group is known for covering a wide range of musical genres, including Broadway, pop and classical. Hagen said he enjoys the variety in the group’s performance sets.
“Honestly, I can’t pick just one [as my favorite],” Hagen said. “I really love them all. We have a saying that ‘All genres are great. There is good music and not so good in all!’”
Hagen said he has had music in his life for as long as he can remember — he grew up in Waverly, Iowa, as the son of two music teachers. After he completed a music education degree at the University of Northern Iowa, he ended up at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on a graduate teaching assistantship in the music department. During his time at UNL, he said he also once sang at the wedding of one of former Husker football coach Tom Osborne’s children.
Hagen said he has fond memories of his time in Lincoln and at UNL.
“I immediately fell in love with everyone and everything at UNL,” he said. “They made me feel like family from the get go. It was not a hard decision to spend some time in Lincoln. I still have many good friends in Lincoln.”
Hagen said he enjoys his time on the road during the group’s tours, as it shows him parts of the world that he would otherwise not see.
“Traveling is such a great education,” he said. “Experiencing different cultures opens one’s eyes and leads to a different perspective on many aspects of life. Even traveling from region to region in the U.S. can be quite a contrast. Every place has something special about it.”
For the show on Wednesday, Hagen said audience members can expect to hear multiple different genres of music and light repartee.
“[It should be] a family-friendly, fun-filled evening of music and banter,” he said.
Tickets to the show are available online or at the Lied Center box office.
