Young musicians have many hurdles in pursuing their passion. A lack of access to good instruments, recording equipment, transportation, a place to practice and finding like-minded individuals of the same age can be frustrating. But aspiring teens and tweens may find some answers in an unusual place – Northwest University (NWU) in Kirkland.

The Christian college will host its first venture into teaching the arts of jamming, overdubbing and getting over stage fright with a new eight-week program called URock starting Jan. 11.

“I’ve been thinking for a few years about what music can do for people, especially with leadership issues,” said Northwest University’s Jeff Lockhart, who is the executive director of the Creatio Institute, which encompasses the URock program at NWU. “It teaches personal commitment, accountability and other skills that everyone needs to survive in the business world. When you’re in a band you also have to learn how to compromise, share and listen to others. It is the dynamic of life.”

The program is designed to teach teens and tweens life skills along with the skills to become a good musician.

Lockhart, who is also a NWU grad and the drummer for Beatles cover band Creme Tangerine, gave up his position as assistant vice president for development at NWU to become executive director of Creatio Institute.

“They have been really supportive,” said Lockhart about the University. “It has been great to wake up every day and do what I love.”

Even though he had great support getting the program off the ground, Lockhart said the launch was not entirely easy.

“We had issues with funding and infrastructure like any new program,” said Lockhart, who has been playing drums professionally for 30 years. “We went out and found people who are good with kids and are good musicians. But we wrote all the curriculum.”

The staff of URock is an impressive list including Lockhart, “Daphne loves Derby” band member David Sparks; Bernadette Bascom, who was one of the first musicians signed to Stevie Wonder’s label; Samuel Mathews, who played drums with Quincy Jones; and Grammy award-winning Steve Smith, who is the program’s creative director.

“Having a guy with two Grammies is pretty cool,” said Lockhart.

The URock program originated at Northshore Baptist Church in Bothell, but URock, as run by NWU, held a trial run last summer to rave reviews from students.

“I am glad that the community is willing to put on programs to organize kids into bands because it is something that we all enjoy,” said Kirkland resident, 16-year-old Colter Potter, who took the program last summer.

Potter met some friends through URock and started the band “Studio 6,” after their rehearsal space in the program.

“We kind of function as a band when we need to,” said Potter, who plays the drums. “We don’t actively practice because we are all so busy, but I stay in contact with those guys.”

Last summer was the second time the band took the URock program and they plan to take it again this summer.

“It is fun to see how far they have progressed in their musical abilities,” said Potter.

The session last summer catered to 75 students, broken into 13 different bands.

“We had kids with very little experience all the way up to kids who had played in bands before and everywhere in between,” said Lockhart. “But to see the kids blossom like that was really fun.”

During the program, the students get to play and record on top-of-the-line equipment, receive a half-hour private lesson from an instructor each week and receive peer mentoring. NWU has six rehearsal/recording rooms where the kids jam and practice two cover songs and write an original.

“It is definitely cool,” said Potter about the equipment. “It is something that us, as teens, don’t have access to and it makes it a lot more fun.”

All three songs are recorded and then the bands put on a concert at the Hardrock Cafe in downtown Seattle.

“We treat the kids with respect and give them room to make mistakes,” said Lockhart. “The results blew me away.”

Lockhart has learned a lot from his students: “Sometimes we tend to over complicate things. You have to keep it simple and have fun. It is nice to forget the pressure of the business.”

But there was a bit of a generational gap between the teachers and musicians and not in the way that most might think. Lockhart said that when he was growing up, musicians identified with a specific genre and rarely deviated from that. But kids today don’t see dividing lines in music.

“Sometimes there was a generational gap because we (the students) grew up listening to different music,” said Potter. “We would decide to jam on something dissonant and they (the teachers) would say, ‘okay how can we make that better?’ and we would all think it sounded really good.”

Potter keeps coming back for many reasons, including the fact that the program fills many of the basic musical needs of a teenager.

But the program cannot provide everything, as Potter is still waiting for his driver’s license. He said he will find a way to get there.

“As long as the program is being held I want to go back,” said Potter, who plans to attend again this summer. “It is a good chance to get together.”

For information, visit www.urocknow.com or call 425-889-5588. The cost for the URock program is $550 for eight weeks.