Crosswalk.com

2003

Crosswalk.com: You had several siblings growing up, but you've described your childhood as "solitary." In what ways was it solitary, with all those brothers and sisters running around? 

Wright: (Laughs) Well, I suppose in the sense that I spent a lot of time on my own. I was the youngest of the family -- my nearest brother was three years older than me, which, when you're a young child, is quite a span. Along with that, we were farmers at a time when it meant working very hard physically. We lived out in the country, so a lot of the day was taken up with work after school. But along with that, I was an avid reader. . . . I suppose it's an exaggeration to say [I had] a solitary childhood, but I did spend a lot of time on my own. 

Crosswalk.com: Did you have any favorite authors as a young boy? 

Wright: One of the first books that I ever read, believe it or not, was Huckleberry Finn, which a relative of mine sent to me from the United States. It was an authentic American copy. Huckleberry Finn and the whole Tom Sawyer thing . . . are some of the first books actually that I read. 

Crosswalk.com: You were 16 years old when you decided that you wanted to study for the priesthood. You said your family didn't pressure you to enter seminary, so what was it that drew you to study for the priesthood? 

Wright: I suppose that the simple answer really would have been the love of God and of all things Christian. I mean, I love the whole ritual of the church, and I was actually an altar boy, believe it or not, when there was still a Latin mass! It was pre-Vatican II. 

I was born in 1957, so I just got in before all the changes in ritual and liturgy and all that. So I grew up with a great love of things like Gregorian chants and the Latin mass and benediction. Those are kind of regular features in the weekly life where I grew up, so I really was immersed in all that at a very young age and grew up with a great love of it. [Another] funny thing, as a child, is that I read the Bible quite a bit, though sometimes . . . because there was nothing else to read. (Laughs) 

I really enjoy the Old Testament, in particular, and the stories of Moses and all . . . the history of the Jews and their relationship with God. . . . It became a big thing in my life, and in that way I was drawn to the priesthood. 

Crosswalk.com: While at seminary, you realized that the priesthood wasn't your lifelong calling. I wondered if you could elaborate a little bit. Did your love of song have anything to do with your decision to leave, or was it something that came later? 

Wright: No, music has always been a central part of my life, and in fact the priesthood was very instrumental in the whole musical training area. In fact, from the very beginning of my training as a seminarian, I was involved in choirs. I became the senior cantor in the middle of college, which was the National Seminary of Ireland. The senior cantor was responsible for all the music in the liturgy in the seminary at that time. 

What happened was, after leaving the priesthood, music became an actual focus for my life. I was ordained at the age of 22, which was very young really to have made such a major decision. As the years went by, I found that I didn't have the fire, as it were, to be a priest. 

Crosswalk.com: Are you still a practicing Catholic? 

Wright: Absolutely. 

Crosswalk.com: And you live in Ireland? 

Wright: Yes, I live in County Cork, which is down South. It's the ancestral home of Henry Ford and people like that. 

Crosswalk.com: The new CD, The Very Best of the Irish Tenors, includes a few previously unreleased performances, two of which are hymns, Amazing Grace and Nearer My God to Thee. Can you tell me why you added those to the CD? Do they get a good reaction when you sing them in concert? 

Wright: Absolutely. Well, Amazing Grace, of course, is a hymn that crosses all boundaries. . . . Each time we perform it, it gets a tremendous response. It's one of those all-time great hymns. Similarly, Nearer My God to Thee is probably one of the most powerful and emotional hymns, I think, ever written. It certainly never fails to move me, both spiritually and emotionally. I just find that combination of lyric and music to be especially powerful. We recorded that on Ellis Island. 

Crosswalk.com: Can the audience for your upcoming tour expect to hear those songs as part of the set? 

Wright: We nearly always include some of the songs. We try and vary the program all the time, but for [our Christmas tour], in particular, a lot of those hymns and songs are featured quite prominently. 

Crosswalk.com: Tell us about your experience touring the States. How many times have you been here? 

Wright: Oh, multiple times. This would be our third summer tour. We've done probably two full Christmas tours. . . . Last year we appeared on Capitol Hill for the great Fourth of July concert. 

Crosswalk.com: For those who haven't seen you live before or haven't seen a concert broadcast of the Irish Tenors, they might wonder if there's more to your live shows than straight song performance. In other words, is there a "showman" aspect or a visual element that you use to further engage the crowd? 

Wright: I suppose it boils down to the quality of the music itself, and that we have a full symphony orchestra and what we consider three very good singers (Laughs). 

A lot of it has to do with the Irish repertoire and the Irish songs and appeal of that kind of music, so it's really a combination of a full symphony orchestra and three singers. That's the keystone of the whole thing. 

Crosswalk.com: None of you three is considered "the clown," or takes on any role other than your traditional tenor roles? 

Wright: (Laughs) Oh, Roland [Tynan] is a bit of a comedian, I suppose. Just wait till you see the show! 

Crosswalk.com: Since you hail from Ireland, I wondered if you could update my readers on the Catholic/Protestant tension there. Has the situation eased? Is it an ongoing problem? 

Wright: To put it in a nutshell, it's a very complicated problem, the kind of political/religious conflict that has two sides. It has been a bit like a weed. It has been growing for a long time and its roots are very deep, so it's not something that will be solved in the short term, I think. It will take a lot of time. 

The historical basis really is that you have a Protestant unionist community who leans sort of toward Britain. You have a Catholic community that identifies very strongly with Ireland itself. And all of this is confined to just six counties.

In recent times, the ordinary people -- if I could call them that -- of Northern Ireland, who lead decent lives, have been demanding peace. They want to have normal lives. . . . These are the vast majority of people there. 

Unfortunately, on both sides of the divide, Catholic and Protestant, you have extremists. You have terrorist groups that sort of represent each side. One of the unfortunate things in recent times is that the terrorist groups on both sides have become involved in other underworld activities, such as drugs and extortion and all sorts of things, and they have almost a vested interest in keeping the unrest alive. 

That's my reading of it, as a layman as such. 

Crosswalk.com: Shifting gears, our readers keep up to speed on a lot of contemporary Christian music and artists who reach out to that community. One person from Ireland who fits that mold is Bono, from U2. Do you have any admiration for him or for his band? 

Wright: Oh, absolutely. I mean, Bono is one of the great stars of Ireland. I think he is known all over the world, and he has said only recently that he's probably the only rock star who takes off the dark glasses so that he won't be recognized. (Laughs) 

But, I mean, people like Sinead O'Connor, Van Morrison, the Cranberries, the Corrs, some great classical stars like James Galway -- I love every kind of music. I've always loved a very broad selection of music, everything from the likes of Queen, with fantastic harmonies and great original material, right through to the serious classical music. But certainly, Bono and U2 are probably number one in terms of Irish stars at this stage. 

Crosswalk.com: Bono, especially in the last couple of years, has become much more politically active, using his Christian faith to speak out about debt relief for African nations and other things. I wondered if there are any causes that are close to your heart, any social cause that you try to promote or draw attention to? 

Wright: Well, absolutely. I'm keenly aware of the conditions in many countries around the world, particularly in South America. I've always had a particular interest in South America. Unfortunately, I consider myself more of a poet than a politician (Laughs). 

I certainly wouldn't be as famous as Bono, but I'm open to supporting any of these major causes. I do personally support individual missions of priests and nuns, some of whom are known to me as friends, working now in South America, particularly in Guatemala and Bolivia and in Peru. 

The diocese of Cork, where I live, has had a mission to Peru for many years now where priests from here go out and work to educate, to spread the Gospel and to improve the conditions of particular areas in Peru. So individual missions I do support personally. 

I'm not averse to getting involved in something bigger if I thought I could improve the quality of life. I have two children myself. I'm keenly aware that they are well fed and well educated, and I would hope and love to see every child in the world get the same opportunity and the same basic human rights. 

Crosswalk.com: When you come to the United States this August, is there any particular performance that you're looking forward to? Any expected highlights? 

Wright: We were talking early on about hymns. I think probably the highlight this time for me will be the singing of America the Beautiful, which is one of my all-time favorites from the American repertoire. We're adding it to the program this time out. 

One of the great things about that is that I know I will hear thousands of voices singing back to me, full of that pride and hope that is quintessentially American. Those moments are unique, and they're exquisitely uplifting in many ways. I never forget those moments during the shows. They remain in your mind and your memory as kind of a snapshot, standing in front of possibly 7,000 or 8,000 people and having them sing America the Beautiful. It's a great experience. We had it the last time with God Bless America. 

Crosswalk.com: You guys have big voices, but I was thinking about how dreadfully hot it's been here in the States recently. You know, the summer is really brutal. . . 

Wright: Yes. 

Crosswalk.com: Are you prepared for that kind of heat? How do the three of you handle that? 

Wright: (Laugh) Not well! 

Crosswalk.com: (Laugh) 

Wright: We've coped before. One of the biggest problems is the insect population. They're strangely attracted to our lights on stage, and they kind of call in to say hello, you know, particularly if your mouth is open at the time. (Laughs)