The Denton New Horizons Band began in February of 1998 at the Denton Senior Center. The area newspapers saw the beginning band for seniors as a novel venture in Texas, and promoted it well. Thirty people started playing in the band that first year, and we have maintained about thirty people over the last 3 years, with people moving in and out of the Dallas area. Luckily, the thirty musicians make up a fairly balanced instrumentation, with flutes, clarinets, alto and tenor saxophones, trumpets, baritones, trombones, tubas, and percussion all being covered.

Our area music store, Brook Mays, has been supportive of the senior beginners. They have allowed the budding musicians to have the first semester of instrument rental free of charge. Veteran musicians in the band have also helped out with instruments by frequenting the local garage sales and pawn shops for any instrument bargains. We then let these instruments get touched up in the instrument repair class at the University of North Texas. Currently, we have two flutes, an oboe, two clarinets, two trumpets, and two trombones ready for any interested beginner to use.

The band's link with the University of North Texas has also been helpful in the area of personnel. Every semester, a handful of music education students from the University of North Texas teach small group or large ensemble sectionals with the band. This set-up has been mutually beneficial as the students get experience and the seniors get a variety of teaching ideas. This university/senior band partnership has also encouraged the senior citizens in the band to attend many concerts at the university, again, to the benefit of all those involved.

For our own performances, we give one large concert at the senior center every semester, and then do one or two other concerts at retirement homes or community functions. Our highlight in February of 2000 was performing at the Texas Music Educators Conference in San Antonio. Many conference goers commented that the seniors' performance was the most enjoyable clinic that they had attended.

Last year we arranged "Somewhere over the Rainbow" for the band and got Denton New Horizons Band shirts embroidered with a rainbow to signify our growth and desire to look to the future. Here are some items that we are continuing to work on.

Looking to the Future
Accommodating the wide variety of skill levels that we have in the band is always our highest priority. While we have some highly proficient players that have polished their chops back up after 40 years of not playing, we also have those who are just p icking up instruments for the very first time. We definitely do not want to frustrate these folks, so finding the balance is important. We have had some success at writing our own arrangements of standards with simple bass line accompaniments for the beginners and obliggato-like harmonies for the more advanced players. The advanced seniors have also enjoyed being pulled out for special, more challenging tunes. This works well, also, although having a balanced instrumentation with the smaller pull-out group is sometimes a problem.

The second challenge we have is getting the word out to interested seniors now that the senior band is not such a novel thing in the area. While we still put announcements on the local radio station and small ads in the newspaper, we seem to attract more players who have played before, and fewer brand new beginners. The seniors themselves have been wonderful recruiters of friends who they would like to see enjoy the band experience, but we are still looking for other ways to get the word out.

Our final challenge is a scheduling one. Right now our beginners meet from 4-5 pm, intermediate from 5-6 pm, and advanced from 6-7 pm. This works for many of the seniors, although most would rather play in the morning hours. We do, however, have some not-yet-retired individuals that we try to accommodate. The not-yet-retired individuals would really prefer a later time, but we have many retired people who do not like to drive at night. We like keeping the three classes on the same day, so that all band members can socialize and go to as many of the sessions as they would like on any given day.

These challenges keep us thinking and dreaming. We want the best possible experience for all of those involved, so we are constantly looking for ways to improve. If you have any ideas, let us know!

Several members of the Dallas New Horizons Band travel to Denton for rehearsals and take part in the concerts.

New Horizons Band can be found all the country, and more are emerging every day.   One of the more recent bands to take roots is found in Colorado Springs, Colorado

Christmas Concert 2003

Group Picture

Setting up for the Christmas Concert Pictures