THIS IS AMERICA - Three Mo' Tenors

THIS IS AMERICA -January 25, 2002: Three Mo' Tenors²

By Lawan Davis
VOICE ONE:
Music experts say more people are becoming interested in classical music because it is being presented in new

ways by new groups. A group of singers called Three Mo’.. Tenors is such a group. I’m Mary Tillotson.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember. The music of Three Mo’.. Tenors is our report

today on the VOA Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.
((MUSIC BRIDGE FROM THREE MO’.. TENORS)
)
VOICE ONE:
Three Mo’.. Tenors present concerts that celebrate many kinds of music.

Their first concert was presented in New York City in the summer of Two-
Thousand. Since then, they have performed in many cities in the United
States. Their concert also has been broadcast on television.

From left: Victor Trent Cook, Thomas
Young, Rodrick Dixon
(Photo -threemotenors.com)
A tenor¹ is the highest natural adult male singing voice. Three African-American singers perform as Three Mo’..
Tenors. They are Victor Trent Cook, Rodrick Dixon and Thomas Young. They sing seven different kinds of
music --opera, songs from Broadway shows, jazz, blues³, soul, spiritual and gospel. Listen as they sing “La
Donna e Mobile ”.. from Giuseppe Verdi’.. s opera “Rigoletto.”..

((CUT ONE – “LA DONNA E MOBILE"))

VOICE TWO:

You may think they sound like any other group of tenors trained to sing classical music. Listen again as the same
performers celebrate the sounds of Broadway. This song is from the Broadway musical show “Five Guys
Named Moe.”.. It is called “Let the Good Times Roll.”..

((CUT 2 – “LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL"))

VOICE ONE:

Broadway director Marion Caffey is creator and director of Three Mo’.. Tenors. He says he got the idea for the
Three Mo’.. Tenors concert while listening to the successful concert of the Three Tenors. It was performed by
three world-famous opera singers, Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti.

Mister Caffey says he wants Three Mo’.. Tenors to show that African -American singers are skilled performers of

classical music. Mister Caffey says there has been a lack of African -American tenors singing opera or classical
music in concert. He includes this message in the Three Mo’.. Tenors concert. Rodrick Dixon sings “Make
Them Hear You ”.. from the Broadway musical “Ragtime⁴.”..

((CUT 3 – “MAKE THEM HEAR YOU"))

VOICE TWO:

The Three Mo’.. Tenors are trained in classical as well as other kinds of music. Victor Trent Cook received a
Tony Award nomination⁵ in Nineteen-Ninety-Five for his performance in the Broadway musical “Smokey Joe ’..
s Café.”.. He has also performed in other Broadway shows.


Rodrick Dixon has sung in concerts in the United States, France and Italy. He has appeared on Broadway in the
musical “Ragtime.”Thomas Young has performed in major concert halls and opera houses in twenty countries.
He has also performed in theater and as a jazz singer.

VOICE ONE:

Listen to more music from the Three Mo’.. Tenors concert. The tenors sing a collection of songs written or made
popular by Duke Ellington. Here they sing “You Gotta Be a Rug Cutter and It Don’t Mean a Thing.
”
((CUT 4 -“YOU GOTTA BE A RUG CUTTER/IT DON’T MEAN A THING”)
)
VOICE TWO:
Soul music became popular in the United States during the Nineteen-Sixties and Nineteen-Seventies. The song

“Love Train ”.. remains⁶ popular today.
((CUT 5 – “LOVE TRAIN")
)
VOICE ONE:

Music critics are praising the Three Mo’.. Tenors. Experts say the tenors are excellent at singing many kinds of

music, as a group and as individuals.
The Three Mo’.. Tenors concert ends with a spiritually emotional performance of gospel songs. The tenors are
joined by a small group of gospel singers. We leave you with “It’s My Time to Be Blessed.
”

((CUT 6 – “IT’S MY TIME TO BE BLESSED”)
)
VOICE TWO:

This program was written by Lawan Davis. It was produced by Caty Weaver⁷. Our studio engineer was Holly⁸
Capehart. I’m Steve Ember.
VOICE ONE:
And I’m Mary Tillotson. Join us again next week for another report about life in the United States on the VOA

Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.

 

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1 tenor   

n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意

参考例句：

• The tenor of his speech was that war would come.他讲话的大意是战争将要发生。
• The four parts in singing are soprano,alto,tenor and bass.唱歌的四个声部是女高音、女低音、男高音和男低音。

2 tenors   

n.男高音( tenor的名词复数 )；大意；男高音歌唱家；（文件的）抄本

参考例句：

• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration. 3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His one -- a-kind packaging thrilled an opera world ever-hungry for tenors. 他一对一类包装激动世界的歌剧以往任何时候都渴望的男高音。 来自互联网

3 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

4 ragtime   

n.拉格泰姆音乐

参考例句：

• The most popular music back then was called ragtime.那时最流行的音乐叫拉格泰姆音乐。
• African-American piano player Scott Joplin wrote many ragtime songs.非裔美国钢琴家ScottJoplin写了许多拉格泰姆歌曲。

5 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

8 holly   

n.[植]冬青属灌木

参考例句：

• I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
• People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。