Guitars Alive takes to stage to promote music education

The eighth annual Guitars Alive show is set to hit the stage on Saturday, April 10 at 7:30 pm at Sudbury Secondary School's Sheridan Auditorium.

Guitars Alive is a non-profit partnership between MacLeod Public School, Sudbury Secondary School, Laurentian University, and Cambrian College, created to promote guitar education in local elementary, secondary, and post-secondary institutions. The concert is its principal fundraiser, and will feature a guitar party to celebrate a century of the guitar and its evolution from classical to blues and jazz, all the way up to rock and roll.

The show also showcases ensembles from Chelmsford Public School, Larchwood Public School and Levack Public School, as well as groups from Lively District Secondary School and Lasalle Secondary School. Highlights will include the Carter Umpherson Bluegrass Duo and the Cambrian college Guitar Ensembles with soloist Jamie Dupuis.

After a brief intermission, Guitars Alive will present a retrospective of the guitar in the 20th century. Performances by some of Sudbury's top musicians, such as Guitars Alive producers Philip Candelaria, Gary DiSalle and Paul Dunn are scheduled. Other performers include Paul DiSalle, Dan Vaillancourt, Don Leuschen, and Marc Savard on Guitar, Peter Scherzinger on Trumpet, Jean-Yves Begin on saxophone, plus Sarah Craig and Hilary Welch on vocals. Tom Linklater and Brian Quebec will be on bass, while Sean Perras will be drumming.

Tickets for the event are $15 for regular admission and $12 for students, seniors, and children. They are available at Black Cat, Jett Landry Music, Dupont's Guitar Shop, Guitar Clinic, Cosmic Dave's Guitar Emporium, the Cambrian College Bookstore, and the Sudbury Secondary School box office. All proceeds from the event will go towards music, educational materials and scholarships for local guitar students, and the Sudbury Kiwanis Festival.