It’ll feel like the very first time for all of Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute’s chamber choir when the students perform with rock band Foreigner.
The high school’s chamber choir has been invited to perform with Foreigner at Budweiser Stage next month.
Upon learning the news, GCVI’s choir director, Lane Osborne, said the students were thrilled.
“I told them probably about a month ago and we had to keep it under wraps while we got the details worked out,” Osborne said.
Osborne said audible gasps could be heard from the students, as the upcoming concert will present an opportunity to play on a much larger stage than they’ve performed on in the past.
The school has played with the legendary rock band on two previous occasions at Centre in the Square in Kitchener. It’ll be GCVI’s third time performing with Foreigner since 2018.
She said the concert with Foreigner will have a special personal meaning for one of the teachers at the school, whose daughter sings in the choir, Osborne has learned.
Back when the teacher and his wife were dating, they would send each other song lyrics. Indeed, when he asked her out on what would be their first date, his message quoted the famous Foreigner lyric, “I want to know what love is and I want you to show me.”
“I guess it went well and five years later they got married and now their daughter is performing on stage with them,” Osborne said.
As more of those opportunities come along for the choir, Osborne said she’s humbled to know there are so many musicians who value music education.
Not only do the bands value music education, but she said their passion becomes reignited while performing with the students too.
“It’s nice to have renewed love for what you’ve created and see that through the performance of students who are young,” she said.
Foreigner has been performing for over 40 years and Wilco has spent around 20 years in the music industry.
The choir has performed in some of the most renowned arenas and concert halls. In 2023, Osborne said they performed traditional art music in Carnegie Hall and played with Classic Albums Live at Massey Hall in March, performing AC/DCs Highway to Hell.
Of course, the students will be backing the bands instead of being up front.
These particular rock performances test their skill in a different way as well as demand a certain level of empathy as a choir in order to perform well and be able to compliment the band’s sound.
Osborne said the choir is practicing on Foreigner’s 1984 ballad I Want to Know What Love Is and another group of students met on Wednesday to rehearse for Wilco.
She said some of these performances for the students will be life changing for them.
“Regardless of what past they’ve come from and what they’re dealing with in their own personal lives, these are moments for them to realize that they can actually use their talents and thrill audiences who loved those albums at one point, and now all of sudden there’s kids performing it for them again,” she said.
The choir and Foreigner will perform on June 14 and then with Wilco on July 2 and 3 at Massey Hall.
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