Known for his rich baritone voice and popular hits like “You Raise Me Up” and “Believe,” Josh Groban will be performing his Stage, Screen, and Symphony tour at Wolf Trap on August 22.
A passionate arts advocate, Groban’s Find Your Light Foundation is dedicated to making sure every young person has access to a quality arts education. Its grant funding, advocacy, and community outreach has awarded $7.5 million to 450 organizations across the country and impacted more than a million students.
We spoke with him about the tour, his new album, and getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, just steps from where he grew up.
Tell us more about your Stage, Screen, and Symphony tour.
It’s a very special opportunity for me whenever I get to perform with such incredible orchestras, and at hallowed ground like Wolf Trap. There are very few spots in the world that are as special as performing with that number of musicians.
Do you enjoy visiting the DC area?
I’ve got a lot of friends in DC, and I’ve been there for everything from President Obama’s inauguration to testifying for arts education on Capitol Hill. And I’ve done concerts at Wolf Trap in the past. When you’re performing there, you know you’re among some of the best and brightest.
How important is your arts advocacy?
It’s my greatest joy, honestly. A lot of times that I’ve come to DC have been in service of speaking about my foundation, Find Your Light, and the importance of music and music education in our lives. DC can be such a polarizing place politically, but one of the things I feel like we can all agree on is how much we must support and preserve our art and the humanity that the arts give us at a time of great polarization.
Your latest album, Cinematic, is a tribute to movie music. How did you choose the songs?
They are songs that have a real personal connection to me, and songs that I felt were right for me vocally. This goes back to why shows with orchestras are so incredible, because when arrangements would come in, we’d know pretty quickly whether there was an arrangement that was beautiful. But I didn’t really have anything to add to the original, and there were others that I felt I could put my stamp on. These are the ones where I felt the arrangers really shined their brightest.
You recently received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. What do you think a young Josh Groban would think about that?
It’s wild. It’s an amazing thing no matter where you’re from in the country, but when you grew up a mile from the spot where your star is, it’s really something very special. I grew up right near Hollywood, and I’ve been walking that street since I was very young. To see my name down there is surreal and an amazing honor.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Feature image by Jen McCord
