New Horizons Band accepting new members
Hot Springs New Horizons Band is accepting enrollment for people who played in band in junior high or high school and have not played in decades, or for highly motivated people who have no music background but always wished to play in a band.
People with no musical experience couple their band membership with private lessons from qualified teachers. No auditions are required, and people may join at any time during the year.
The band maintains a list of private music teachers who charge reasonable rates for instruction. Those teachers can help students select an appropriate instrument given their physical limitations and provide advice on how and where to purchase new or used instruments.
Call the band’s director Bill Crook at 501-6556396, or visit Crook’s Music, 2024 Central Ave., for more information.
The band meets on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to noon. Their new rehearsal venue is Creekside Community Church, 1010 Shady Grove Road.
Membership is $40 per semester, payable to Hot Springs Community Bands.
The band prizes its mission to take music to people who are residents of assisted living centers. However, the band frequently plays at various events in the Hot Springs area.
The fall/winter performance schedule includes:
• Sept. 30 — Coronado Baptist Church.
• Oct. 12 — Mount Carmel.
• Oct. 17 — McAuley Center.
• Nov. 9 — West Shores.
• Dec. 7 — Mount Carmel.
• Dec. 12 — McAuley Center.
All performances are free of charge.
Hot Springs New Horizons Band is the adult education group of the Hot Springs Community Bands, of which the Hot Springs Concert Band is the performing group. Some New Horizons musicians join to hone their skills until they are ready to audition for Hot Springs Concert Band. Other musicians choose to play exclusively with New Horizons, and some play in both bands.
“The most fun I have all week is playing with New Horizons,” said clarinet player Millie Gore Lancaster. “We work hard, but we laugh and don’t take ourselves too seriously. In addition, I’ve made new friends I’d have never met otherwise.”