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GCVI students to perform in a benefit concert for Donkey Sanctuary of Canada

The music classes received two guitars as a donation from the Donkey Sanctuary of Canada. On Saturday, 60 students will perform a concert in support of the Sanctuary at GCVI. Upper Grand District School Board

Students from the music classes at Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute are set to perform Fleetwood Mac’s album Rumors in a benefit concert on Saturday night.

Around 60 students are prepared to share the stage in a benefit concert to be held inside the school auditorium.

The students will also share the stage with Mayor Cam Guthrie, who will play drums.

Music teacher at GCVI Lane Osborne said Mayor Guthrie performed in last year’s benefit concert, too.

“He is going to be playing Second-Hand News and Dreams, which are the first two songs on Rumors, and the kids are super excited about it,” Osborne said.

Last year, Osborne’s students performed Abbey Road by the Beatles.

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She said they came up with the idea after two members of the Donkey Sanctuary of Canada in Puslinch donated a pair of guitars to the music classes.

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She said the generous donation prompted them to host a benefit concert.

This year, with more time and experience on their side, Osborne said they voted on which album they’d play next.

“It’s actually my guitar class and my vocal class who pitched different albums at the beginning of the school year,” she said.

“And then they voted on about 15 different albums and we whittled it down to two and Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors wound up winning the competition,” she said.”

Osborne added they’ve had about two months to prepare for the event.

She said it’ll feature a mix of new and experienced musicians.

“We’ve got a bunch of students in our classes who are absolute beginners, just started playing guitar or singing in front of audiences at the beginning of September,” she said.

“We have students who have more experience; they’ve done this a few times either inside or outside of school and they’ve been playing for a longer period of time.”

Osborne said this show encompasses the absolute beginners playing with more advanced musicians in this epic collaboration between all music students of all abilities in the school.

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The concert raised $2,000 last year and it hopes to raise more than that amount this year, which is a pay-what-can-model.

The event is free to attend.

The doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m.

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