The Durham Region Music Society will be hosting a fundraiser after a blind jazz musician was robbed of thousands of dollars of equipment.
Eric Lambier, of Oshawa, came home from playing a show last week to discover that thieves had broken into his home and stolen his microphone and MacBook computer along with programs specifically designed to speak and respond to the visually impaired artist.
“It’s not like stealing a loaf of bread, you really affect people’s lives when you do this,” Lambier said.
“It really affects your life like right now, like I said, it’s like somebody else losing their tools, he said, adding that he has had to put much of his work on hold.
After hearing about what happened, the Durham Region Music Society was outraged and decided to put together a benefit in order to raise funds for Lambier to get new equipment as soon as possible.
“Everybody went through a bit of outrage about it, because he's a well-known, well respected musician in the area,” said the society’s president, Howard Ross.
A music fundraiser will be held in May and the society is offering a $1,000 reward if the items are returned.
“We're trying to do it as quickly as possible, to help replace the things he's lost,” Ross said.