A Conversation with Forte Tenors’ Josh Page

 

By: Jacob Elyachar, jakes-take.com

It is an honor to welcome tenor Josh Page to Jake’s Take.

His passion for music and vocals led him to work with a diverse group of artists such as Andrea Bocelli, Charice, Delta Goodrem, Jackie Evancho and Josh Groban.

However, Josh captured the world’s attention three years ago, when he formed Forte Tenors with Fernando Varela and Hana Ryu. Their take on “Pie Jesu” shocked the America’s Got Talent judges and astonished viewers!   Unfortunately, when Ryu had to leave the group due to personal issues, Sean Panikkar took his place and the second version of the group soared to critical acclaim and took Radio City Music Hall by storm.

After placing fourth in the competition, the trio was signed to SYCO Records & Columbia Records. The group’s self-titled debut album peaked at number two on Amazon’s best sellers list and earned the number one slot on Barnes & Noble’s music charts. Forte also performed at Carnegie Hall and at President Obama’s 2013 National Tree Lighting ceremony.

Now, the latest incarnation of the Forte Tenors (Page, Panikkar & Ryu) is about to release their sophomore album and is hoping that fans rally around their Pledge Music campaign!

In this edition of A Conversation, Josh reflected about his time on America’s Got Talent and shared what happened when a certain HBO drama retweeted the trio’s rendition of their theme song.

Jacob Elyachar: How has Forte grown as performers since your time on “America’s Got Talent”?

Josh Page: We have been evolving since our very first performance on Americas Got Talent. Our story is special because the group has been public since its birth. With every performance, we become more of a unit. As we are producing our new CD, the sound is becoming a clearly unified force of energy.

JE: What were some of your favorite memories from your time on “AGT”?

JP: The incredibly surreal feeling of debuting at Radio City Music Hall, and singing for the entire country at the same moment, was my favorite memory. That was a dream so far beyond what I had imagined in life. Every stage of AGT was special. You meet so many incredible artists. I loved being trapped in a big theater with a variety of different crazy people in Las Vegas. We were excited and nervous to re-audition with Sean Panikkar and it just felt like a giant summer camp for crazy talented people.

JE: Recently, the latest incarnation of the Forte Tenors launched a campaign on Pledge Music in order to record the group’s second post-“AGT” album? How have fans rallied around this campaign?

JP: The support for our new album campaign has been incredible. Our “Forte Fans” are a dedicated group and we love them very much. We are all working very hard to ensure the future of our group, and have been working on some of these projects secretly for many months.

JE: The group also recorded a cover of the “Game of Thrones” theme song. The track received an official retweet from the HBO series’ Twitter account. Could you describe that feeling when the group found about the retweet?

JP: When I saw they re-tweeted our video, it knocked the air out of me. I was freaking out…for the actual production to acknowledge our work! I am a huge Game of Thrones fan and I have always thought that it was the perfect subject matter to justify an epic opera performance. It was an idea I had a long time ago, and my brother Zach and I produced the song for the new formation of our group. We have a dream to evolve opera crossover in an epic direction to inspire new generations of fans.

JE: Which artists would the group like to collaborate with in the future?

JP: We would really love to work with Lindsey Stirling, the Piano Guys, 2CELLOs and Jackie Evancho in the future!

JE: If you had the chance to meet with musical groups who want to audition for “AGT,” what advice would you share with them?

JP: I have spoken to many people over the past few years that have dreams of being on the show. I would say that performing for America is worth every effort you can make. Your story does not need to be sad; it needs to be powerful and entertaining. Put yourself in a crazy circumstance. We literally met the day before our audition and jumped on stage together. Within a few months we were the tenor group of America, performing for the President and headlining Carnegie Hall. If you do not try, you will never know…

To learn more about the Forte Tenors’ new project, head over to their Pledge Music page!

You can connect with Forte Tenors on social media! Visit their Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & YouTube channels.