From digging snow tunnels in his front yard, to singing on the Oprah Winfrey Show, there's a lot of reminiscing going on as one former local man comes back to perform in Prince George.
Fraser Walters will join the rest of the quartet when the Canadian Tenors perform at CN Centre Thursday night.
The show is a fundraiser for the Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation and Walters is feeling that connection, especially in the wake of the Lakeland Mills tragedy, he said. Funds will be directed to the Community Health Fund where the board of directors of the foundation decides where the greatest need lies.
"Our performance is going to be an intense and beautiful evening," Walters said, whose mom was an operating nurse at the Prince George hospital when they lived here. "I think we're going to connect on a lot of levels with the people that come out to hear us."
Walters has a lot of first memories from Prince George, including digging tunnels in the giant snow banks the city snow plow would pile on his family's lawn.
"It's a wonder that they didn't collapse on us," said Walters, who lived here until he was six. He remembers taking the bus to bilingual King George V school from his home on Cascade Avenue.
"That's where I started to learn how to speak French and to this day it serves me well -- we sing in French in the concert," said Walters. "I remember one year - I think I was in Kindergarten and there was a Christmas pageant and I was chosen to play Jesus because I think I was the tallest in the class. It's one of those funny moments where all the parents are proud to be in the audience and the kids are dressed up as trees and there's absolutely no talent needed but we're all just hanging out and having a good time. I have lots of cool Prince George memories like that."
The Tenors got quite a surprise when they made a career-defining appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show. The group began singing Hallelujah when legendary singing sensation Celine Dion joined in the harmony.
"We felt like falling down," said Walters, about when Dion joined them on Oprah's stage. "The only person that knew what was happening was our manager and dude, he tells everyone everything because he's got a big mouth and the fact that he kept that secret for a couple of weeks -- it was all under this guise that the show was called 'the next big thing' and we were the last guests. Little did we know the whole show was about Celine and that we were about to be surprised on international television."
The Canadian Tenors have been working on their new album, which will be released in October.
"We've been greatly supported by David Foster," said Walters. "He took us on the road a couple years ago around North America and then that went so well we went on a tour of Asia with him. We hit seven or eight different countries and it's like Foster mania over there. They love his stuff. So we were seeing the world, just learning the ropes of the touring lifestyle."
Foster is now with the Canadian Tenors' record label Universal and there will be original music from the Tenors on the upcoming album as well as hits like Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word by Elton John.
"Our version is orchestral and it's got Remigio (a Tenor) playing some nylon string guitar and it's very lush and it's contemporary but recognizable," said Walters. "I think a lot of our audience loves the fact that they can hear songs that they're familiar with whether it's classical or contemporary. Always we strive for variety and the same thing happens on our live shows as well and that's why we're so excited to come up to Prince George for the first time. The response has already been amazing"
Tickets are on sale at all Ticketmaster outlets.
