Rankin Inlet (Sep 04/06) - Rankin Inlet hosted the second annual Kivalliq Music Camp this past week.

Young musicians from across the region attended the event, instructed by Ian Tamblyn, Rebecca Campbell, Anne Lindsay and Fred Guignion. The students ranged from beginners to accomplished players, with a number of them returning for a second year. The event is organized and hosted by the Kivalliq Inuit Organization.

Campbell said the students were open to every musical style they were exposed to during the camp.

"The furthest stretch seemed to be reggae, possibly because it's the most-distant style from their local environment," said Campbell.

"But, even with that, they had a real sense of time.

"The guitar players and the singers were very comfortable with the blues and the more traditional-based material we covered."

Campbell said a fair amount of voice work was done with the students this year, concentrating more on singing than technique. She said the group co-wrote songs together and the instructors planted seeds of material the students could think about working with.

"We learned a new song each day as a starting point, and also as something we could come back to at the end of the session.

"We wanted to give them direction on how to tie the process into the product.

"We could have indulged ourselves in the process, but we wanted to provide them with the type of immediate award a new song can deliver."

Better known for performing with groups like Blue Rodeo than teaching, Lindsay files her two trips to the music camp under eye-opening experience. She said while the Kivalliq students adapt well to different styles, they prefer the same type of music as most youth their age.

"They're teenagers, so they're interested in a lot of pop music," said Lindsay.

"The guitar players, especially, enjoy the punk-spiced rock of groups like Sum 41 and Blink.

"But they're still keen on learning different styles."

Lindsay said learning different styles of music can be quite valuable to a musician.

She said the Kivalliq youth applied themselves to the structured material, but they also enjoyed letting go.

"I'd sit down and play a Nirvana tune and they'd really get off on having the chance to jam out on it.

"But, really, no matter what the style, they were always eager to jump in."