YELLOWKNIFE - This year, Peter Skinner has found a fresh way to recruit musicians to perform at CBC's True North Concert.

He and a panel of judges will review CDs and DVDs from aspiring musicians in five of the CBC's coverage areas - in the True North "Undiscovered" Talent Search - and build the concert from there.

Leela Gilday applauds the audience after a successful sing-along at the Tree of Peace Friendship Centre in Yellowknife, where she released her second CD, Sedze. She is one of the judges of the talent search for CBC's True North concert. - NNSL file photo

"It's important to see what's out there in terms of musical talent, in terms of singers and musicians," he said.

Skinner decided upon this method of recruiting musicians to get a wider scope of what's out there.

"The problem is our broadcast area is so big... I can't really get to see everybody that I'd like to see. I can't get out there and hit the clubs and see the musicians in schools and that," he said.

The concert, in its 26th year running, takes place in different communities around the North. Last year, for its 25th anniversary, it was held in Yellowknife. This year the concert will take place in Iqaluit, which will be getting a CBC Radio Two transmitter the same week.

"We were in Iqaluit last in 2001 so it's nice to get back to the Eastern Arctic, " he said.

The talent search is open to a vast number of musicians in the North, the only major requirement being that the artist must not already be signed to a major label. People of any age can try out with any style of music, so long as the recording is live on either CD or DVD.

"I want a straight recording of exactly how you sound because we don't want to be fooled," he said.

Skinner is hoping to get a wide variety of styles of music to choose from. He said he feels it's important to get a variety because "it shows off what we've got in the North because you can't really pigeonhole Northern music as one thing..."

People in the Northwest Territories are eligible to try out for the opportunity to play at this concert along with residents of Yukon, Nunavut, Nunavik and the James Bay Cree area. Musicians have until July 31 to get their submissions in for the September concert.

The first half of the show will feature the top artists from each of the five coverage areas, and the second half will feature the CBC radio orchestra.

The panel of judges will include Northwest Territories native Leela Gilday, who recently won a Juno award for Aboriginal recording of the year.