- Prof. Roy Ernst, National Founder
There is room for everyone, and there is no pressure to progress at any particular pace or play music beyond your skill level.
We believe actively participating in music-making is a perfect way to add meaning, deep satisfaction, friendships and fun to our lives.
Always a teacher, even in retirement, Tom Miller of Port Washington, Wisconsin, saw the New Horizons Music idea and ran with it. He was the major impetus in the founding of the group in 2005, and served as our executive director until his untimely death in early 2012.
Whether you've never picked up an instrument, or haven't played since high school, we invite you to experience the fun of making music with a small group of adults just like yourself. We play in a concert band setting, and also split into smaller ensembles. No experience is necessary. Many of our members had not played before joining. This is a great opportunity for seniors to try something new, but we have no age limitations to join.
We come from all walks of life. Our group ranges in age from our 40s to our 90s. We all share a desire to learn and grow musically. Some of us picked up our first instrument the day we joined the band. Others dusted off old instruments they had been saving since high school or college.
We meet twice a week for full band rehearsals, working on a variety of music from jazzy to show tunes, from Mozart to modern day concert band compositions. We try to make it a mix that is easy enough for the beginning players in the group, while challenging the more experienced members. Even better, we help each other along the way.