SANDPOINT — The sound of aspiring musicians echoed through the gymnasium at Sandpoint's Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on July 24, the final day of Music Bridges Borders’ camp.

The final ceremony is the culmination of four days of learning, where 58 kids from the Sandpoint area get the chance to show off their newfound love of music to friends and family.  

“A lot of the children come away from the camp wanting to learn about a specific instrument,” Rick Reed, MBB’s co-founder said. “We set them up with teachers that are local that we know are good.” 

However, this isn’t the average music camp, most of the teachers are teenagers from northern Mexico. The camp plays a key role in the organization’s mission, not only to provide the kids in the program with an education, but to give back and promote diversity in the community. 

"There are so many unfair stereotypes and generalizations about Latinos,” Reed said. “I think the beautiful music would disarm those thoughts. A lot of those thoughts come from ignorance and just being there and seeing them, gives them second thoughts.” 

For the last eight years, Reed and his wife, Elinor Reed, have been running Music Bridges Borders as a standalone nonprofit. Every year, the organization brings a cohort of young, talented musicians trained in the State Music System from northern Mexico to North Idaho.  

While here, the musicians taught the camp, played various concerts and will learn from some of the best musicians in the region. Reed said he credits the support from the community that has made the organization’s mission possible.  

"They have been very welcomed everywhere they go,” Reed said. “Music Bridges Borders is totally volunteer driven... random people will come up and say, ‘Hey, if you ever need a vehicle’ and we take them up on it.” 

Reed said they got the idea for an orchestral-based exchange program while Elinor was living in Mexico and Reed was in Sandpoint. She said that there was a similar initiative between orchestras in Venezuela and Mexico, which inspired them to start the program in the town. 

“I thought it was a marvelous idea to have an exchange program with Mexico,” Elinor said. “I talked to some teachers over there and we started creating the idea for the exchange program, with the community orchestras of Mexicali first.” 

The seven students selected this year arrived in Sandpoint in the middle of July and almost instantly gave back to the community, playing a free concert at Marigold’s Bistro. From there, a concert at the Sandpoint Presbyterian Church on July 19 was their major performance before the camp began.  

That first week the musicians are focused on teaching, providing ample opportunities for the musicians to give back to the community on their short visit. The second week pivots the students from teaching to learning, beginning with a trip to Spokane to learn from professors at Whitworth University.  

When they aren’t playing, Reed and Elinor said that the MBB musicians are out exploring Bonner County. They are especially fond of Lake Pend Oreille and the surrounding Pacific Northwest wilderness.  

"A lot of them have never seen a deer in real life,” Reed said. “For me it’s like ‘Darn, deer,’ but for them, they want to get pictures of it.” 

The program ultimately culminates with the cohort working with the Spokane Youth Symphony for its Sensational Summer Music Camp. 

“They’ll be playing some complex pieces with good musicians and great conductors,” Reed said. “They were the total teachers the first week and the total students the second week. Their talent is really appreciated there.” 

The last MBB performance in the Sandpoint area will be a free show at The Jacklin Arts and Cultural Center in Post Falls on July 31 at 7 p.m. 

    The Music Bridge Borders cohort of young musicians plays a song at Luther Park Assisted Living in Sandpoint.