STAFF REPORT

If you venture into the Carrollton Senior Center any Friday afternoon, you will stumble upon the eclectic sounds of the New Horizons Band Dallas.

The group practices every Friday at the senior center and welcomes all senior musicians, from beginners to experts. The band is made up of musicians ages 50 and older, and many haven’t played an instrument since their childhood. Music they perform ranges from patriotic, musicals, love songs and children’s songs.

New Horizons Band Dallas includes a concert band and a dance band, Upswing. Both bands have a busy performance schedule and are in high demand. They often perform at schools, churches, retirement centers and other events. Upswing’s next concert will be Thursday, August 3, at the Richardson Senior Center for National Night Out.

New Horizons Band Dallas is currently 40-members strong, and is constantly growing. No auditions are required to join, and members must be available to rehearse on Fridays and perform on weekdays. The band welcomes members from all over the metroplex. For more information on joining, contact Totsy Cunningham at 214-358-2985 or Joann Aukes at 972-304-0242. The group’s web site is www.nhbd.org.

It's like finding an old friend you haven't seen since high school and picking up the conversation where it left off.

Photos by RICHARD MICHAEL PRUITT/DMN

Bill Schwartz of Dallas plays flute in the New Horizons Band, which meets at the Carrollton Senior Center on Fridays.

Members of the New Horizons Band are rediscovering their passion for music and dusting off instruments many haven't played in 50 years.

The band, made up of musicians over 50 years old from all over the Dallas area, meets at the Carrollton Senior Center every Friday afternoon for rehearsals to fine-tune their skills.

The 40-member New Horizons Band, which is part of the national organization New Horizons Music Association, includes brass, wind, reed and percussion instruments. The band plays traditional marches, patriotic tunes, collections from Broadway musicals, love songs and popular music.

They perform at schools, retirement centers, conventions, hospitals and churches.

"We play anywhere people want to hear a band," said Jim Jecker, 71, of Dallas, the president of the concert band, who played trombone in high school but was recruited to play the tuba for New Horizons.

"We want to get the word out about the band and encourage membership so we can fill out the instruments. We need more tuba, oboe, bassoon and percussion players," he said.

The 12-member Upswing dance band plays rock, swing, jazz and Latin music from the Big Band era.

"We pride ourselves in recreating the Big Band sound of the '30s, '40s and '50s, like Glenn Miller, Count Basie and Duke Ellington," said Upswing manager Wes Wilson, 73, of Irving, who plays trumpet for both groups.

"I played trumpet back in the old days, and it lay in the closet for about 50 years. I brushed it off and went back to work," Mr. Wilson said.

June Stoskopf, a 70-year-old retired guidance counselor who moved to Rowlett two years ago, plays drums for both bands.

She played the snare drum through high school in the early 1950s and didn't play again until 1999 when she joined the New Horizons Band where she lived in Iowa.

"I was kind of scared, but I wanted to do it. It doesn't take long for it to come back to you. It's like riding a bike," Mrs. Stoskopf said.

She even had a chance to go back in time, so to speak, when a friend who played bass drum with her in high school visited and sat in on a practice session.

"We got her up there with us, and it was like we went back 50 years. I told her, 'Marge, you had your foot cocked out just like you did back then.' It makes all those years just dwindle away," she said.

Lynda Stringer is a North Richland Hills-based freelance writer.