OTTAWA—The Music Alive Program: Nunavut, a National Arts Centre program dedicated to support the incredible musical culture of Nunavut, will hold a Youth Music Leadership Summit in Iqaluit, Nunavut from January 25 to January 27, 2013 in room 124 at Arctic College. The Summit runs each day from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and media are welcome to attend.

The Summit is organized and led by Iqaluit musician and educator Andrew Morrison, a young leader who has been actively involved in encouraging young people to engage with Inuit music and culture.

“The Youth Music Leadership Summit will bring together some of the North’s most promising young leaders,” said Mr. Morrison. “Our goal is to collaborate with them, and share ideas on how they can promote music in their own communities,” Morrison said. 

Sessions will be led by Mr. Morrison, as well as renowned throat singer Nancy Mike, Chris Coleman, a multi-instrumentalist and member of the band Night Sun, and Nova Scotian fiddler Gina Burgess. The three have worked together in the past, including at the Nijjausijarnirmik Ilinniarniq arts and music camp in Igloolik and Pangnirtung.

Created by the National Arts Centre, the Music Alive Program: Nunavut was designed in consultation with local educators and community leaders and is supported by the Government of Nunavut, RBC Foundation and travel partner First Air. The program was founded to enhance music education in remote communities across Canada and has five goals:

• Music education for children and youth
• Music making in the community
• Building capacity among educators and teaching musicians
• Preserving and celebrating local culture
• Showcasing Northern artists

THE MUSIC ALIVE PROGRAM IN CANADA

Since its launch in 2005, the Music Alive Program has visited more than 425 schools and reached more than 60,000 children in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Nunavut.

Music Alive Program: Nunavut works to support the region’s incredible musical culture by designing, in collaboration with local partners and advisers, a comprehensive, multi-year music program.

The NAC is a leader in music education through performances for young children and classroom presentations, through its award-winning arts education Web site artsalive.ca, and through distance learning using broadband videoconference technology.

The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank the very generous corporations and individuals who support the National Arts Centre’s Music Alive Program. Our thanks to Encana Corporation, SaskTel and Total E&P Canada Ltd. in Alberta and SaskTel in Saskatachewan.  The Music Alive Program: Nunavut is made possible through the support of Major Supporter RBC Foundation, Travel Partner First Air and the Government of Nunavut. 

We would also like to thank the local orchestras affiliated with the Music Alive Program, which are: Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Red Deer Symphony Orchestra, and Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra. For the Music Alive Program: Manitoba, thanks go to the NAC’s partnership with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.

For more information please contact:

Mary Gordon
Communications Advisor
National Arts Centre
mary.gordon@nac-cna.ca
(613) 947-7000 ext 849

Andrew Morrison
Organizer
Youth Music Leadership Summit, Iqaluit
Tel. 867-222-5677
Email: andrewiqaluit@gmail.com