Factoid:For more information on The Ten Tenors or to purchase CDs, log on to the group’s Web site at www.thetentenors.com

Drew Graham hasn’t been able to touch his saxophone lately. Classically trained on the instrument, he switched over to the vocal department at the university he attended in Australia.

And from there, he became a Tenor.

Since 1998, Graham, 27, has been one of The Ten Tenors, who will perform at 7:30 p.m tonight at Shryock Auditorium. The group, which visited SIUC in October 2001, has toured around the world promoting its album “Larger that Life,” which was released last fall.

“I really love the classical music tradition,” Graham said in a phone interview from his Pensacola, Fla., hotel room.

“We are all performers, we all have say in what’s going on in our shows.”

Before joining The Ten Tenors, Graham, who is from Cains, Australia, was in “The Bartered Bride,” “Brahms’ Requiem,” Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and numerous of other performances at the Studiopera.

Graham said The Ten Tenors are not always what people expect because they adapt their shows to include a variety of musical genres, such as country western tunes and a cover of the Queens classic “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

“People think that we are going to play all opera, all the time, but that is not the case,” he said. “We cover a multitude of artists, from the Bee Gees to the Beach Boys.”

One song the group performs is especially important to Graham. He said he often gets emotional at the end of each show when the members break into their own rendition of “Matilda,” the unofficial anthem of Australia.

“It always brings a tear to my eye,” he said.

The Ten Tenors have internationally released eight albums in six years, with the United States and Canadian editions released in September. While on tour with The Ten Tenors, who have been working on a new album, Graham said he has loved being in the United States, including many college campuses. Graham said at each performance, the group enjoys greeting fans before and after the show, so the public can get a sense of The Ten Tenor’s easy going personalities.

“We always have a great time, meeting the audience and letting them know who we are, letting them see how down to earth we are,” he said.