Some performers during Northern Spirits last year. Photo courtesy Facebook, Sheryl Kimbley.
A group of about 85 northern youths will be gathered in Prince Albert this weekend for a music workshop.
The Northern Spirits workshop is the precursor to the annual Voices of the North Showcase, where between 25 to 30 of the youths will perform on stage in February.
This weekend is all about the group of 12 to 18-year-olds honing their skills and having fun, said organizer Sheryl Kimbley.
“When they’re done with this whole session, what it’s going to show them is the kind of things they can do. We don’t limit them, we don’t tell them ‘you need to work hard and you’re going to learn these skills.’ We tell them have some fun, and at the same time have respect and have the ability to learn and participate and you will do well wherever you go,” she said.
The program was envisioned more than a decade ago by Voices of the North founding member Bernice Sayese, who later passed on.
“She made me promise to do something that would be beneficial to the youth that were coming to audition and weren’t quite making the cut. She wanted us to do something that would focus on giving them more opportunities within the arts,” Kimbley explained.
In effect, she said now we’re seeing huge changes as northern youth make their mark in music.
“You didn’t see the Aboriginal presence as much before and now we are training these kids coming from the north to be a part of that scene and basically we’re returning an army of youth coming out, full of self-esteem and a belief that they belong in the greater scheme of things,” she said.
The workshop is taking place all weekend starting on Friday, and will include everything from live jams to recording music to self-esteem sessions.
Just last year, the program was in dire financial straits, but an MBC radiothon raised thousands and the following partners have put resources together for the workshops to continue: Meadow Lake Tribal Council; Prince Albert Grand Council; Northern Sports, Culture and Recreation District; and Musqua Entertainment.