The multi-platinum-selling trio — Victor Micallef, Fraser Walters and Clifton Murray — filmed the TV show over two nights in early June at Toronto's Elgin Theatre and raised $20,000 through a minimum donation of $10 per ticket.
“The Tenors actually kind of started in Toronto, and it was home base for these guys for a while,” Micallef told Samaritanmag. “I say home-base for these guys [Walters and Murray] because I live in Toronto, — I’m from Toronto and I’m Toronto proud, like you wouldn’t believe. — These guys are Toronto proud but they’re from Vancouver, so we were here when that happened. “
Adds Walters: “We had a gig for Gilda’s Club that night [of the attack, April 23]. That’s a great organization we’ve worked with for many years,” he says of the charity for cancer patients named after comedian Gilda Radner. “There was a heavy mood because of what had happened. We just wanted to do our small part.”
After the initial fund helped cover expenses for the families impacted by the attack, including funeral costs, #TorontoStrong Fund — a partnership between the City of Toronto and Toronto Foundation — the remaining funds will be allocated “based on models and best practices from around the world.,” according to the site.
The #TorontoStrong Fund will continue to receive donations from the public until August 31, 2018 and all funds will be distributed by Sept. 28, 2018. The fund is now up to $3.4 million.
“We got them in the door with a minimum donation of $10 and we left it up to them if they wanted to donate more to the #TorontoStrongFund,” Murray said.
“Toronto’s been really good to us. It’s raised our careers in a way, the fans, the city, the media, they’ve supported us for so many years and right away we’re like how can we give back because this was such a devastating moment for the city, and for Canada. To see them come together and support the way they have, the fund is up to like $3.4 million already and we’re contributing in a small way but it’s nice to be a part of it.”
The PBS special, entitled The Tenors – Fan Favorites, premieres in August and will be re-edited with the Christmas songs they kicked off the concert with, for airdates closer to the holidays. The group will be touring North America in the fall, which will lead into a Christmas tour.
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