By JACK FELIX

Sun-Gazette Correspondent

BLOOMSBURG — Bloomsburg University invites you to “Come Home for the Holidays with The Ten Tenors.”

If a single tenor can sing out with a rich voice, verve and unmistakable charm, imagine how more entertaining The Ten Tenors can be.

Having grown into Australia’s best known musical exports, The Ten Tenors are coming to Bloomsburg University on 7:30 p.m. Friday.

One of the heralded attractions of the Celebrity Artists’ Series, The Ten Tenors appearance in the Mitrani Hall at the Haas Center for the Arts will likely cement their place as Australia’s premier classical-crossover group.

With an entertaining mix of music and comedy, their repertoire includes opera, contemporary classics, rock and pop.

Formed by a group of college friends, who, feeling constrained by the seriousness of their music school training, honed their craft performing in the vast Australian outback.

While singing to increasingly appreciative audiences, The Ten Tenors found greater enjoyment in the art of entertainment than in the art of opera.

Having toured the USA every year since 2004, The Ten Tenors’ last concert at Bloomsburg University was in 2008. Now their expanded tour usually includes about 250 concerts annually in five continents.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of touring for The Ten Tenors.

Quite an accomplishment for a bunch of university mates wanting to earn some extra pocket money while they were perfecting their craft at opera school.

Back then, none of them imagined that their idea, inspired by the Three (Italian) Tenors, would be so popular for so long.

The magical ingredient? Introducing a contemporary repertoire with a tenorial twist.

Of course, the presentation of today’s shows has come a long way from the group’s university days, but the core values remain the same with the Aussie charm and an undeniable sense of good funwhich is the cornerstone of the group’s success.

One of the tenors, Paul Gelsumini, who also serves as music director, commented on B.U.’s holiday concert notes that “There’s nothing in the world the way that America does the holidays; it’s unique, it’s wonderful, and we love it.”

“Usually, we seem to work off of each other. The more fun that we have on stage, the more fun the audience has, and the more energy they give back to us in return. By the end, it’s a big party for us and the audience.”

The musical lineup of this Celebrity Artists’ Series attraction features a generous mix of festive favorites and modern holiday hits.

The Ten Tenors’ walk through a musical Winter Wonderland promises to truly capture the essence of the holidays for the whole family, as well as many of the rock and classic songs that made this group famous worldwide.

For more information, contact the box office at 570-389-4409, or visit www.cas.buzz.