This December on APTN is music mayhem on APTN, with music programming representing Canada from coast-to-coast-to-coast throughout the month, featuring the hottest Aboriginal music artists.

There is something for every music lover from hip-hop to rock to Motown to traditional and more. Don’t miss a beat.

One of the first specials APTN is proud to showcase is Tusarnituuq! Nagano Au Pays Des Inuits on December 6.

This one-hour documentary, broadcast in Inuktitut, chronicles the first-ever tour of the Canadian Arctic by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (OSM) in September 2008.

Inviting Inuit performers to collaborate with them, the OSM and conductor Kent Nagano perform a concert of classical music with a distinctly Inuit twist.

We follow the process of creation and collaboration from early meetings between the composer and the throat singers, to attempts at teasing out the sound of a snow goose from one of the musical instruments.

Once up North, the group must learn to work together on a breakneck schedule that sees them go to three villages and travel 2700 kms in four short days. Arctic weather is notoriously volatile and blizzard warnings can always threaten to put an early and disappointing end to a tour.

The next day, December 7, is the exciting APTN premiere of Music is the Medicine.

Energetic blues-rock musician Derek Miller has built a devoted fan base, received numerous awards – including Canada’s highest honour, the Juno Award, twice – and has played with more world-class musicians than many can even dream of.

Leaving his old struggles behind, and coping with past addictions and personal loss, Derek feels like a new and reinvigorated virtuoso reaching even harder than ever to move up in this career.

Follow Derek’s journey in this hour-long documentary as he sets out to release his next album, with high hopes of achieving mainstream success.

Music is the Medicine is an intimate portrait of a critically acclaimed but struggling artist who’s been on the verge of breakthrough for over a decade and the experiences that have shaped his music all along the way.

See even more Derek Miller on December 28 when he takes us with him as he travels deep into the heart of the artist’s journey in the one-hour music special Roadmusic with Derek Miller, featuring live performances and up close and personal interviews with some of Canada’s top Aboriginal musicians.

Some of the hot titles this December include Bal de Neige 2008/2009, Breaking New Beats, Gilles Sioui Sur Six Cordes, Pow Wow Thunder, First Tracks 2010, Sparkle, Sounds Like Motown and more.

There are many programs to tickle your music fancy, so just check your local listings, the APTN.ca schedule, or check out the APTN music site at aptn.ca/music.

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