"You can hit on pretty much anything with anything," Guttu said. "If you do it in an organized way with a lot of people, it sounds really cool."

Born and raised in Oslo, Norway, Guttu was trained in theater at Rose Bruford College and in music at Guildhall School of Music, both in London. For 13 years she toured the United Kingdom, working out of London and Glasgow, Scotland, as a musician and actor, and often composing music for the theater pieces she acted in. She came to the United States and Alaska with a touring company of "The Red Balloon." She was the former education director and interim program director for the Alaska Theatre of Youth and is founding director of the Spenard Jazz Fest.

"I was even a weather girl at one point," Guttu said.

Guttu created Envirobeat after she did a youth percussion workshop in anticipation of a visit to Anchorage in 2006 by Scrap Art Music, a Canadian group. Envirobeat isn't just about making music.

"It's the environment part and the beat part," Guttu said. "We're going to talk about whatever people bring in Where would it go if we didn't make an instrument out of it? The likelihood is it would go to the backyard or landfill."

Talking about what happens to found objects adds to the musical experience, she said.

"It's another way of teaching environmental stewardship while doing something completely different."

Envirobeat is for new as well as experienced musicians and for children and adults, although children under age 7 should attend with a registered parent or adult friend.

"(Guttu is) taking this opportunity to expand people's idea of what music is and what instrument-making is," said HCOA executive director Hope Finkelstein. "A lot of people are intimidated by instruments."

Through Envirobeat she hopes to make music accessible, Guttu said. She's bringing her plankophone, a marimba-like percussion instrument made of a series of wooden boards.

"They are extremely democratic," Guttu said of Envirobeat instruments. "People can't walk by without playing them. They're not afraid of them because they're a bunch of planks."

Students will learn basic musical theory and learn simple drumming rhythms and patterns. They'll make instruments out of whatever students find and bring in and then compose pieces. Guttu also will talk about performance and technique.

"Creating sound is really what this is all about," she said. "We want people to enjoy music and mainly rhythms and learn to play them on instruments that don't cost an arm and a leg that we made ourselves."

The Envirobeat workshop is $90 or $75 for HCOA members. To register, call 235-4288.

Michael Armstrong can be reached at michaelarmstrong.@homernews.com.