Martin Toal

His Music and In Concert

Martin Toal is a trained operatic tenor, born and resident in Manchester UK, of paternal Irish grandparents, formerly a teacher of modern languages (fluent French and conversational Italian, German and Spanish), and a lover of songs and music which move, inspire or simply give pleasure, whatever the genre! Above all, Martin is a born entertainer, with the ability to engage and capture an audience across the musical persuasions, a quality seldom found in operatic tenors. In concert, Martin performs his own original arrangements of mainly popular Operatic and Irish songs from one or both of his two CDs ARIA CELTICA and COCKLES MUSSELS & ARIAS. Thus, beautiful and moving Irish songs like ‘Danny Boy’, ‘She Moved Through the Fair’ and ‘The Leaving of Liverpool’ are sung by Martin in a more classical or operatic style, whilst Italian songs and arias like ‘Funiculi Funicula’, ‘O Sole Mio’ and Puccini’s masterpiece ‘Nessun Dorma’ are musically arranged so that the Celtic and /or acoustic style is apparent. He also adds a Celtic twist to the ‘Drinking Song’ from the Student Prince (made famous by the great Mario Lanza), whilst giving the traditional Irish song Wild Rover a stirring and anthemic feel! In short, a Martin Toal concert is entertainment at its best, both moving and fun, and is very much aimed at the 30+ classical crossover/ middle of the road/ easy listening market. It appeals to lovers of classical and non classical music alike and would be particularly appealing in countries where there is a large 2nd and 3rd generation immigrant Irish community or where Irish music and traditions are popular.

What further makes a Martin Toal concert unique is that Martin is accompanied by a band rather than an orchestra, a three to nine piece band which has as its core the fusion of the Celtic (fiddle), the Classical (piano) and the Acoustic (guitar), thus creating a very different and easy listening sound for the classical crossover market.

“His beautiful voice and perfect expression sometimes brought tears to your eyes but just as you were feeling totally carried away with the romance of it all, he would switch to a foot-tapping rendition of La Donna e Mobile and instantly change your mood”. (Concert review by Julia Taylor, Manchester Evening News Online)

“ .. it’s hard not to be drawn in by Toal’s deep tone and track four — She Moved Through The Fair — is testimony to how the tenor has subtly blended two very different styles of the music spectrum.” (CD review by Siobhan Breatnach, Irish Post newspaper)

The Man & His Biography

Martin Toal is a top class entertainer with a uniquely versatile, operatically trained tenor voice, very much in demand in the UK for high profile sporting & corporate events, and for concerts which include his own highly acclaimed annual concert at Manchester’s no1 classical venue the Bridgewater Hall. He has performed with some of Europe’s top artists including soprano Lesley Garrett and Ireland’s Chris de Burgh who described Martin’s voice as “phenomenal”. In May 2009, he had the honour of meeting and singing the national anthem for Her Majesty the Queen at a special royal event in Lancashire, England.

Martin is particularly celebrated amongst sports fans having sung at all major UK sporting venues including Twickenham the home of English rugby union, the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Old Trafford and Eastlands in Manchester, and in September 2007 at Wembley in front of 90000 people and a TV audience of millions for the first competitive football international played by England at the brand new national stadium, the Euro 2008 qualifier vs. Israel. Interestingly, Martin is known to many in the press & media as “England’s Winning Tenor” as the England football team has won without conceding a single goal every time he has sung the national anthem before the game – now 5 times! FYI, Martin did not sing in South Africa!

Martin’s corporate clients include Honda, the FA and Coutts Private Banking, and his recent charity performances include for the Prince's Trust, the Christie Cancer Charity, St Ann’s Hospice which Martin is a patron of, and the rugby union charity Wooden Spoon. He has sung for top sports personalities including the England football manager Fabio Capello, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, tennis legends John McEnroe and Boris Becker, and England rugby stars Johnny Wilkinson, Lawrence Dallaglio and Jason Robinson.

Martin often appears on regional TV & Radio and in March 2010, he was featured in BBC2's A Band for Britain performing the national anthem under the baton of actress Sue Perkins. Martin has even sung and been interviewed on French TV: he is a former Modern Languages teacher who speaks fluent French and conversational Italian, German and Spanish!

Of Irish origin, Martin's CDs ARIA CELTICA and COCKLES MUSSELS & ARIAS are an eclectic mix of the popular operatic and Celtic songs, and are available to buy or order at HMV stores, online, or to download from ITunes.

" .. a phenomenal voice!" - Chris de Burgh