Teenagers looking for thrills join garage bands with friends, but 60-year-olds are getting their own shot at stardom with the New Horizons Band.
New Horizons, sponsored by the University’s Performing Arts Academy, is a program designed for senior citizens who want to learn to play a musical instrument. The Academy held the program’s first rehearsal Sept. 8 and will hold its second tonight.
Academy Director Blake Wilson said the decision to host the program was the result of professor and potential participant interest.
Second-year music doctoral student Andrew Gerbitz and several University doctoral and master’s students are leading the program, which is a part of the New Horizons International Music Association.
The program accepts participants of any musical background, including those who have never played an instrument or who have not played for many years, according to the NHIMA web site.
Gerbitz said the University is the optimal location for the program because of its rehearsal spaces and “strong teaching happening.”
Bethany Padgett, Performing Arts Academy flute instructor and second-year doctoral student, is assisting with the program. She said she’s looking forward to “bringing adults … together and teaching them collectively to learn new instruments” and “sharing with them a sense of