Renowned tenor Mark DuBois, who hails from Hockley Valley, Ontario, has sung virtually every song imaginable. From opera, to broadway hits, to folk songs in various languages – even singing Frederick Weatherly’s Danny Boy in Mandarin, DuBois is known the world over as a flexible and extremely talented tenor.
Despite his massive success and travels around the world, he still favors his home standing on a 50-acre piece of beautiful land in Hockley Valley, his primary residence for over a decade and a half.
The father of five says, “It’s just paradise.” DuBois has frequented the area ever since his parents bought the property over 50 years ago.
Aside from performing in major orchestras across North America, some of DuBois’ notable performances include singing for the Pope, a monarch and a President.
As for his work and success, DuBois comments, “Being a tenor is quite demanding. That’s why I came up with the Art of the Tenor, to show different aspects of my life.”
DuBois refers to his upcoming show on Nov. 13 at the Orangeville Opera House, with “everything from traditional musical theatre, the old ones like Westside Story and Sound of Music, to more modern music like Les Mis and Phantom of the Opera,” he said.
DuBois traces his interest in music back to when he was in the church choir at the tender age of 6. He then went on to study at the University of Toronto, taking up music and operatic performance, turning pro at only 18.
From that day on, DuBois has performed with every major orchestra in his native Canada as well as others in the United States including Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and San Francisco. DuBois has also gone international – gracing stages in Austria, Belgium, France, Hungary, Italy and the United Kingdom.
The tenor is currently busy imparting his talent and knowledge to the younger generation. Each year, he holds auditions and picks two or three kids to be part of his private class.
Asked as to why he does this, the Hockley Valley said, “I think artists, as much as they can, should give back to the community who got them where they are.” Lucky for us living with in close proximity to the famed tenor her in Hockley Valley.