Composer and arranger extraordinaire, Bruce Cassidy and his 11-member HotFoot Orchestra came to Elora on Nov. 30.
The event was organized by Alan Ralston, a local businessman and musician. Collectively, the musicians in the band have recorded and performed with such internationally-recognized artists such as Blood Sweat and Tears, Dionne Warwick, Burt Bacharack, Lighthouse, Aretha Franklin and Duke Ellington.
In aggregate, they have recorded over 10,000 tunes on more than 1,000 albums. Along with the albums, most of the musicians have performed on jingles, radio, television, in movie sound tracks and in the orchestras of Toronto’s large musical theatre productions.
Officials say the group, which performed live for three hours at the Elora Legion Hall, is among the top studio and live performance musicians in the world.
The event was the first for a new organization called Friends of Musicians, the brainchild of Alan Ralston. Friends of Musicians is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping musicians through live musical events and managing backstage activities. The group hopes to arrange for sponsorship, scholarship and bursaries in the future.
Ralston, of Fergus, was a guest musician, playing trumpet along side Bruce Cassidy and Kevin Turcotte.
