Novice, lapsed musicians find New Horizons

  COLORADO SPRINGS - It's rehearsal night for The New Horizons Band, and the climaxes are ear-splitting - hardly surprising when you cram more than 70 wind and brass musicians into what's basically a good-size living room.

  What's surprising is how good the music sounds. Conducted by Ed Nuccio, a former band teacher at Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs, Colo., the ensemble is energetic, crisp and reasonably in tune - as well as loud.

  But there's no pressure for them to play as if they're going to perform at Carnegie Hall. The all-adult New Horizons Band ensembles are about drawing lapsed musicians back into the fold, teaching beginners how to play, and giving all musicians, lapsed or otherwise, a way to play together for fun.

  Band members come from all walks of life, although most are at least middle-age. Some, such as Nuccio, are retired musicians. Some are lifetime amateurs, such as Thomas Tabrah, a jazz pianist who retired after 31 years in the Coast Guard.

  And a few just wanted to try something new, including Tabrah's wife, Helayne, a retired nurse who recently took up string bass.

  "He's been a musician all his life, and I haven't," she said. "I decided to do something we could do together."

  Roy Ernst, a retired teacher from Eastman School of Music, founded the New Horizons International Music Association in Rochester, N.Y., in 1991. Ernst believed that musical groups could fulfill an older adult's needs for challenging intellectual activity, to be a contributing member of a group, and to have exciting events in the future.
 
 Today there are more than 120 New Horizons organizations in the United States and Canada.

  But few cities have had as much success with the program as Colorado Springs. Since 2002, eight New Horizons wind and jazz bands, with a total of 175 members, have sprung up in the city, catering to everyone from raw beginners to the highly accomplished.

  Band members attribute the local success to directors Bill Callen and Nuccio - especially Nuccio, who directs six of the bands.

  "He's the consummate servant-leader," said Thomas Tabrah. "He's absolutely selfless. And he could get blood out of a rock."

  Nuccio puts it a differently: "I'm a jerk. I make them work because I think people will return if you can make their time worthwhile. If they make mistakes and you say, 'hey, no problem,' they stop coming."

  Although geared toward people 50 and older, many New Horizons Bands allow younger members. All that's required is that band members enjoy learning and taking on new challenges as well as music.

  "Almost all the members have been very successful in their chosen careers," said Nuccio.

  The groups are more recreational than performance-oriented.

  "At one of the first meetings I attended, some of the trumpet players said, 'Ed, you gig too many times and we quit,'" said Thomas Tabrah. "So we gig twice a year."

  But that doesn't mean the musicians don't take it seriously.

  Few, however, are as intense as Tabrah, who's involved in six ensembles and rehearses about 16 hours a week in addition to private practice time.

  Tabrah's wife is also dedicated to her new musical pursuit.

  "After 35 years, she cut off her fingernails," Tabrah said. "That's how serious she is."

  Novice or experienced, all the musicians enjoy playing music in a group.

  "You're in the moment," said Rebecca Arnold, a retired foreign service officer and flute player. "You can't think about the bad things that happened that day, or what you're going to make for dinner."

  Hugh Servis, a retired doctor and alto saxophone player, agreed: "It's a mental vacation."

  In fact, he said, it's actually therapeutic. "One woman had neuralgia - pain all the time - that stopped as soon as she joined the band," Servis said. Between the social aspects, the challenge of learning new things and the therapeutic value, New Horizons has become a central part of many members' lives.

  "The best metric is this: The absentee rate is just about zero," said Tabrah.

  "It's a band-geek cult," said Arnold. "I'm trying to get my friends interested."

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DOES MUSIC INTEREST YOU? TAKE NOTE OF THIS

  For information on the New Horizons International Music Association go to www.newhorizonsmusic.org.

To find out if there is a  band in your area, visit www.newhorizonsmusic.org/groups/groups.html. If there isn't a band in your area and you are interested in forming one, general information can be found at www.newhorizonsmusic.org/nhima.html

  The first step in starting a group is to join the New Horizons International Music Association as a planning member. Cost is $27 for one year. Members receive a New Horizons DVD, which includes New Horizons performances, interviews, and text files that can be printed from your computer. These PDF files can also be sent to others who may be involved in starting your group.

  The text files include a Planning Guide, sample brochures, a sample poster, sample news releases, guidelines for teachers, information on developing the organization and more. A one-year Planning Membership in the New Horizons International Music Association also includes two issues of the New Horizons News and free phone or e-mail consultation with a New Horizons director.

  Retail music stores, college or university music departments are good places to get involved in starting a band, orchestra or other ensemble.

  Most New Horizons Bands and Orchestras find rehearsal space in churches, senior centers and schools.