LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
Nine students from Thomas Simpson School are in Yellowknife preparing for a performance the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre (NACC) is calling a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Delainea Anderson: 14-year-old is one of nine Fort Simpson students who will be travelling to Yellowknife on May 30 to perform with the Listen Up! Ensemble. - April Hudson/NNSL photo

For more than a year, NACC has been doing the groundwork for Listen Up!, a performing arts youth outreach initiative leading to a four-day music and arts residency in Yellowknife beginning May 27 and culminating in a final performance on May 30.

Grade 9 student Delainea Anderson is one member of the Fort Simpson group who arrived in Yellowknife Tuesday afternoon to prepare for the performance. Before she left, Anderson said she was nervous about performing in front of so many people but knows her voice is good and that she practises every day.

Anderson enjoys performing slow songs and classics, and her mid-range voice should be well-suited to the choir arrangement the students will ultimately perform.

"I've been singing for a long time - probably since I was four. I really enjoy it," Anderson said.

"But I've been getting feedback (from my teachers) on my voice and I've done talent shows in the past. Earlier this year, I did one in Fort Simpson where I came in second place."

NACC executive and artistic director Marie Coderre said in most cases, this will be the first time students have had the opportunity to perform on a professional stage.

In total, more than 70 students across the territory will be in Yellowknife as part of the initiative.

"Over the past two years, we reached out to schools and community members to present this project on a territorial level, which was never done before," Coderre said.

"This is a project connecting poetry to music and classical music."

She said that while the kids are in Yellowknife, their days will be packed.

"They go from rehearsal to writing workshop, to musical composition, to visual arts; there is a large range of activities going on," she said.

"This was a huge, huge project, financially and also logistically, but it's happening and it's thanks to the help of everybody."

Coderre said the incentive behind this project is for NACC to build enthusiasm around the arts and increase the likelihood that students continue in the arts after graduation.

"We wanted to expose them so they understand they can pursue their dreams; they can pursue something they like," she said.

"And now, we've created a solid partnership with the schools, so it will be much easier in the future to do other projects with them."

Some of the artists students will be working with include Canadian composer Jeffrey Ryan, New York composer Robert Kapilow and Canadian classical ensemble the Gryphon Trio.

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