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Marcus Reeeb (L), Ellen Harper, Elodie Oliver, Victoria Crichton and Will Adams, members of The Toronto All Stars Steel Orchestra, practise at Rosedale Public School, Toronto June 30 2011.Fernando Morales/The Globe and Mail

The Toronto District School Board will save its cherished music program.

Trustees voted Wednesday night to balance its books by cutting nearly $30-million.

But a proposal to shave $2-million off the deficit by cutting back on itinerant music instructors was shelved. IMIs are musicians who lead bands and strings and steel pan groups in Grades 5 through 8.

The money will be found through "in house savings," such as not filling staff vacancies.

Trustees were against cutting IMIs after a chorus of protests from parents and students. An online petition to stop the cuts had generated more than 10,000 signatures.

Trustees voted earlier this year to slash about 250 high-school teaching jobs, including special education teachers and guidance counsellors, to help deal with a $55-million shortfall.

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