In early March, the Music Compound Album Ensemble – comprising 14 students, ages 13 to 70, and five staff members – presented two performances of the complete “Rumours” album by Fleetwood Mac. Proceeds from the concert benefited Safe Place and Rape Crisis Center (SPARCC), a charity selected to reflect the troubled circumstances that famously surrounded the band during the recording of the album. Music Compound studio manager Alyssa Martin delivered a check for $542 to SPARCC in mid-March.
Recorded between February and August 1976, and released in February 1977, “Rumours” was the band’s first number-one album in both the U.S. and the United Kingdom. It featured four hit singles: “Dreams” (which sold more than one million copies and reached the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100), “Go Your Own Way,” “Don’t Stop” and “You Make Loving Fun.” Pre-orders for the album reached 800,000 copies, at the time the largest advance sale in Warner Brothers’ history.
Frequently appearing in lists of “the greatest albums ever made,” “Rumours” stayed at the top of the Billboard 200 for 31 non-consecutive weeks, while also reaching number one in the U.K., Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
The Album Ensemble had previously presented a musical tribute to Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon”; funds raised during this concert were donated to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of Sarasota and Manatee Counties. Upcoming Album Ensemble concerts will feature The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” (June 2024) and Nirvana’s “Unplugged in New York” (October 2024); nonprofit beneficiaries are to be determined.
“The Album Ensemble effort aligns perfectly with our commitment to fostering collaboration and providing intergenerational opportunities for our students,” said Music Compound owner/president Jenny Townsend. “To be able to present a musical showcase at a high level while raising funds for important organizations and causes makes the whole experience even more meaningful for all involved.”
The Album Ensemble is one of many programs Music Compound provides for adults and youth who wish to connect with like-minded individuals in a positive and fun learning environment. Music Compound has locations in Bradenton and Sarasota. For more information, visit musiccompound.com.
PHOTO ID: Ning Tinsley, communications manager for SPARCC (left) with Music Compound studio manager Alyssa Martin during the check presentation
