Submitted Photo The New Horizons Band will perform Monday night.

The New Horizons Band of Western New York will present their Fall Concert at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 7. The free concert will be held in the Harry A. King Concert Hall on the SUNY Fredonia Campus.

Music Director Dr. Katherine M. Levy will conduct “The Impresario: Overture to the Comic Opera” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and arranged by Clifford P. Barnes; “Traditions” by Sean O’Loughlin; “Sheep May Safely Graze” by Johann Sebastian Bach and arranged by Alfred Reed; and “The Spirit of the Solitary Defender” by Lisa Galvin.

Mrs. Karen Boyd will conduct “The March From ‘1941’” by John Williams and transcribed for band by Paul Lavender. Conductor Donald Keddie will lead the band in “The Blue and the Gray” by Clare Grundman.

The New Horizons Jazz Band of Western New York will start the second half of the program with Student Director Frank Valente conducting “Lullaby of Birdland” by George Shearing, lyrics by George Weiss and arranged by Rick Stitzel. Student Director Ken Starr will lead the Jazz Band in “God Bless the Child” with music by Arthur Herzog, lyrics by Billie Holiday and arranged by Sammy Nestico. “Blue Bossa” by Kenny Dorham and arranged by Tom Kubis will be conducted by Student Director Jesse Torres.

Dr. Levy will return to the stage with the New Horizons Band of Western New York to conduct “It Had Better Be Tonight” by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer and arranged by Michael Brown; and will finish the concert with “Highlights from Jersey Boys” arranged by Michael Brown. Conductor David Golando will lead the band in “Dreamscape” by Frank Erickson.

Advanced music education students in the School of Music provide group lesson instruction. The Fall 2016 Fredonia Student New Horizons coaches are: Samm Pedneault, Lauren Kirchner, Patrick Daly, Chad Jones, Brieana Ventrice, Dom Vassallo, Scott Wheeler, Emily Brown, Jesse Torres, Alexia Lekos, David Turken, Juan Morales, Frank Valente, Ken Starr, Victoria DiVito, Lucia Swarts, Ian McLaughlin, Mitchell Marg, John Cole, Andrea Mau, and Kathleen O’Mara.

New Horizons Band member coaches are: Pauline Emilson, Dixieland Band; John Krestic, Brass Schleptet; Jacob Swanson, Saxtette; and Linda Phillips, piano class.

Members of The New Horizons Band of Western New York live in the following communities: Angola, Brocton, Cassadaga, Derby, Dunkirk, Forestville, Fredonia, Lakewood, Lily Dale, Portland, Sheridan, Silver Creek, Sinclairville, Strykersville, and Westfield.

The band, under the direction of Levy, was launched by the SUNY Fredonia School of Music eleven years ago, and is living proof that, when it comes to learning to play a musical instrument, it truly is “never too late.” New Horizons Band members, who are at least 50 years old, learn to play a band instrument, return to playing a band instrument after a long absence, or continue to improve playing an instrument they have long enjoyed.

The band program includes two weekly group lessons on an instrument and two weekly band rehearsals at SUNY Fredonia’s Mason Hall. The band has an enrollment of more than 60 musicians. The average band member’s age is 63. Band members’ ages range from the early 50s to the early 80s.

By popular demand, special New Horizons Band-Only sessions are held during the months of January and July. No lessons are offered during the special sessions.

Dr. Levy, conductor and education coordinator of the New Horizons Band of Western New York, is an Associate Professor of Music Education and head of the music education area at SUNY Fredonia. She is an internationally recognized mentor and conductor of New Horizons Bands.

Levy was introduced to New Horizons in 1995 when she became the brass instructor for one of the first New Horizons Bands in Iowa City, Iowa. She has conducted New Horizons Bands in Iowa and Georgia, and she founded a New Horizons Band in Hagerstown, MD.

“Music making is just too much fun to leave only to younger folks,” Levy said. “Almost anyone can enjoy learning to play a musical instrument when good instruction, a friendly environment, and lots of helping hands are available.”

A small tuition fee covers the cost of instruction and music. No previous background in music or on an instrument is necessary to join. Members can testify that it is possible to learn to play an instrument as a senior adult!

The New Horizons Band of Western New York (NHBWNY) is part of the Musical Journeys Program, a community outreach project offered in the Fredonia School of Music.

The band reflects the New Horizons International Music Association philosophy that music can provide challenging intellectual activity, social involvement, and “the opportunity to develop one’s musical potential to the level that will be personally rewarding.”

More information about New Horizons music efforts and the New Horizons Band of Western New York is available online at www.fredonia.edu/music/community/newhorizons.asp or by contacting Janet Stout at (716) 549-3386 or emailing her at djstout9@verizon.net. Information about the International New Horizons project is available at www.newhorizonsmusic.org.