The Ten Tenors bring tribute album ‘Wish You Were Here’ to the Fox

Singer Cameron Barclay still cherishes his photos of the INB Performing Arts Center.

Barclay had just 10 or so shows with Australian classical-crossover vocal group the Ten Tenors under his belt when the group performed at the INB in 2014.

“I was pretty excited back then,” he said on the way to a recent show in Arizona. “I’ve sort of worn away from the nerves now, but none of the excitement is gone.”

Four years after his first show in Spokane, Barclay is just as excited for the band’s Thursday show at Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox.

He’s excited to see fans he hasn’t seen in a few years, but he’s also looking forward to the taste of New Zealand the state provides.

“It feels a lot like home, actually, Washington state,” Barclay, one of two non-Australian members of the Ten Tenors (the other being German Florian Voss), said. “It’s quite green and leafy, and it rains a lot.”

The group is in town supporting its latest album, “Wish You Were Here,” which was released in North America earlier this month.

The album pays tribute to and celebrates artists who have passed away that have inspired the Ten Tenors throughout the group’s 21-year history.

The album features John Lennon’s “Imagine,” Queen’s “We Are the Champions” and Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me).”

But the project began with David Bowie.

The group was rehearsing Bowie’s “Heroes” when, as Barclay recalls, everyone’s phones started to blow up with news that the legendary singer had died.

“We were all super, super affected by that because obviously, as musicians, he had a huge influence on so many of us,” Barclay said. “As we know, 2016 went on to be one of those years where we lost quite a few of the greats. That was the catalyst for the concept really.”

“Heroes” closes the album, with INXS’s “Never Tear Us Apart,” Jon English’s “Six Ribbons,” Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” and Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie,” originally by the Zutons, also featured on “Wish You Were Here.”

To build the tracklist, the group went through its repertoire and looked for songs they had performed in the past and songs they could update.

“We really wanted some Australian artists in there and obviously some international artists as well,” Barclay said. “And some girls and some boys because we like to take on some of the girls’ songs too.”

With a selection of songs in hand, the group then turned to Australian-born, London-based arranger Steven Baker, who Barclay called “an absolute genius.”

Baker and Paul Gelsumini, a member of the Ten Tenors who also acts as the touring musical director, have final say on the arrangements, but Barclay said the process of arranging a piece is similar to a massive jam session, with everyone working together to choose which combination of voices will work for a certain song.

“The beauty of having the 10 tenors is that we’re all tenors but different types of tenors,” Barclay said. “All in the tenor range, but all very different vocal qualities and vocal styles, so that really gives us that variety that allows us to approach and present so many different styles of music.”

The current Ten Tenors lineup features Barclay, Voss, Gelsumini, Adrian Li Donni, Daniel Belle, James Watkinson, Jarred Newal, Keane Fletcher, Michael Edwards and Nigel Huckle.

The group has released 14 albums since 1997 and has performed alongside the likes of Andrea Bocelli, Christina Aguilera, Willie Nelson, Sarah Brightman and Keith Urban.

Though part of the “Wish You Were Here” tour, the group’s Spokane show won’t consist entirely of music from the album.

Barclay hinted at opera and ’60s-era tunes a la Frankie Valli, calling the set list a mix of new material and songs that launched the group more than two decades ago.

And while “Wish You Were Here” pays tribute to artists who have died, Barclay promises the night won’t be wholly somber.

“We are musicians, and we take our craft of being musicians really, really seriously,” Barclay said. “But I think that culturally, the Australian thing, the style of delivery is quite informal and relaxed and approachable. We chat to the audience and we have heaps of fun. We try to balance that really serious musicianship with something that’s really approachable and really friendly and fun for the audience.”