Finbar Wright's second recording, Whatever You Believe, reached the top of the Irish charts with triple platinum certification and produced the number 1 hit single, "Whatever You Believe", now a Christmas favourite in Ireland.
27 Facts About Finbar Wright
1.
2.
Grandfather Finbar Wright started up his own hackney service which became the family business until one son, Robert, decided to go into farming.
3.
Robert and Julia both enjoyed singing and, subsequently, made it a priority that all eight of the Finbar Wright children were taught an appreciation for music, in one form or another.
4.
At age 6 young Finbar Wright began studying piano with Ms.
5.
At age 11 Finbar Wright, having shown a keen interest and, more importantly, an ability for athletics, was sent to Farranferris College, a diocesan preparatory school known for its hurling tradition.
6.
Finbar Wright returned to Farranferris College to teach Spanish and Latin.
7.
Finbar Wright has performed in many of the major concert halls around the world including Carnegie Hall, Sydney Opera House, Radio City Music Hall, Lincoln Center, Royal Albert Hall, Dublin's National Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl.
8.
Formal vocal studies began in 1984 as Finbar Wright attended the Cork School of Music, where he studied music theory with George Dunne, singing with Robert Beare and piano with Angel Climent.
9.
Finbar Wright subsequently studied with Ernst Haefliger in Munich, Germany, and with the Romanian soprano Ileana Cotrubas at Aldeburgh, England.
10.
Finbar Wright was chosen to study with Dr Veronica Dunne, regarded as Ireland's pre-eminent vocal teacher.
11.
In 1987, Finbar Wright made his television singing debut on RTE's The Late Late Show, hosted by Gay Byrne.
12.
Finbar Wright entered the Feis Ceoil competitions in Dublin, winning its major singing awards and, in 1989, he was chosen as Ireland's representative to the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition.
13.
In 1990, Finbar Wright began his professional music career in earnest, with recitals and concerts around Ireland.
14.
Finbar Wright was nominated for, and won, the Irish Recorded Music Association's "Male Entertainer of the Year" for two consecutive years, in 1992 and 1993.
15.
Finbar Wright has performed with Phil Coulter, Kiri Te Kanawa, Jerry Lee Lewis and Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber.
16.
Finbar Wright is fluent in Irish, English, Spanish, Italian, French and Latin, and his concerts and recordings include songs in most of these languages.
17.
In 1995, Finbar Wright performed at the State Dinner in Dublin Castle in honour of US President Bill Clinton.
18.
Finbar Wright was invited to sing again for President Clinton in Washington, DC.
19.
In 1999, Daniel O'Donnell asked Finbar Wright to join him at the London Royal Albert Hall for a concert, prompting him to state: "Daniel and I are going to be like the new Irish rat pack".
20.
On his 50th birthday at the National Concert Hall in Dublin, Finbar Wright was presented with a five-foot cake and a leather-bound book of well wishes from former President Bill and Hillary Clinton, and old friends Daniel O'Donnell and Phil Coulter, among others.
21.
Finbar Wright has guested on most of Ireland's national television programs, including many appearances on RTE's The Late Late Show and UTV's Gerry Kelly show, TV3's Ireland AM, RTE's The Afternoon Show and the comedy hit Podge and Rodge.
22.
Finbar Wright has guested with the Irish Tenors on all the major network morning shows in the United States, NBC's Today Show, ABC's Good Morning America, CBS' the Early Show as well as Live with Regis and Kelly and several appearances on the home shopping network QVC.
23.
Still deeply spiritual, Finbar Wright includes at least one piece of sacred music in every concert and on every album.
24.
The first to be asked by producer Bill Hughes to join a new group called The Irish Tenors in 1998, Finbar Wright had to decline under the terms of his contract with Sony BMG Music.
25.
Since then, Finbar Wright has recorded six albums and five PBS specials with the Irish Tenors.
26.
The Gift of Glib was not lost on this Corkman as Finbar Wright began writing song lyrics several years ago, four of which have appeared on his recordings.
27.
Private Friends is a collection of some of Finbar Wright's poetry published in 2001 and dedicated to his brother, Robert, who, at age 47, had died suddenly the same year.