CELTIC TENORS to Perform at UNL 12/8

The internationally renowned Celtic Tenors, the most successful classical crossover artists ever to emerge from Ireland, will visit the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Lied Center for Performing Arts for a concert on Dec. 8.

Celebrate the holidays in style with Celtic classics and holiday favorites. The 7:30 p.m. performance is sponsored by Sartor Hamann Jewelers.

Tickets are $36 and $26, and may be purchased online at www.liedcenter.org, by calling 402-472-4747 or at the Lied Center Ticket Office, 301 N. 12th St.

In 2000, following an impromptu audition at EMI in London, the Celtic Tenors were signed on the spot to an international record deal -- a highly unusual event that was the talk of the music industry.

The Celtic Tenors' fifth album is due for release before Christmas. Recorded in the Hollywood Hills, this new album is a collection of songs from North America, by songwriters including Stephen Foster and Bob Dylan. It's a roots album with rich harmony-driven songs in which Celtic Tenors Daryl Simpson, James Nelson and Matthew Gilsenan worked with the Grammy-winning team of Steve Lindsey, Dillon O'Brien and Dave Way.

The Celtic Tenors continue to "re-invent the whole tenor idiom" by pioneering a new style of "cool" never before seen on the classical stage and by breaking the traditional stuffy tenor mold, said composer Phil Coulter. While each of the Celtic Tenors has been influenced by the musical traditions from his individual part of Ireland, each performer shows great flexibility in melding his voice to suit the appropriate classical, folk, Irish and pop genres.

With total album sales, including compilations, of more than 1 million worldwide, and a full international touring schedule, the Celtic Tenors have topped the charts in the United States, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Heralded as "…a superbly flawless unit" by the Irish Examiner, their performance combines incredible operatic singing with a delightful evening of fun.

The Lied Center for Performing Arts is a state-of-the-art performing arts facility. Opened in 1990, it is Nebraska's "Home for the Arts." The facility offers major regional, national and international events designed to attract, entertain and inspire a statewide audience. The Lied Center and its programs are made possible through the generous 2011-2012 season support of Christina Hixson and the Lied Foundation Trust, Friends of Lied, Ameritas and Union Bank.