Innovative BYU New Horizons Orchestra for beginning adult musicians begins another season
- BYU New Horizons Orchestra for adults over 40 interested in learning an orchestral string instrument
- Lessons and rehearsals are held from 9:30-11:30 a.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays from Sept. 17-Dec. 11
- Tuition: $125 for a semester
- Sign up:
http://ce.byu.edu/cw/newhorizons
The BYU New Horizons Orchestra is living proof that when it comes to learning to play a musical instrument, it truly is never too late. Enrollment is now open for the upcoming season of this successful string orchestra program. Running from September 17 through December 11, the New Horizons Orchestra season provides music instruction for adults over 40 who are interested in playing an orchestral string instrument – violin, viola, cello or bass.
No previous experience is necessary to join. Lessons and rehearsals are held each Wednesday and Thursday, from 9:30-11:30 a.m., at an LDS chapel (1038 North 1200 East, Provo) just three block east of the BYU campus. Tuition for the program is $125 per semester, not including costs of instruments, music and related equipment.
“This is a program that is meant for people who always wanted to play a string instrument," said BYU Professor of Music Education Andrew Dabczynski. "It’s for those who might have played an instrument throughout their school and even college years, but have put it away and now discover that they have the time and desire to pick it up again.”
In addition to benefiting the adults in the community, the orchestra provides a laboratory teaching opportunity for BYU undergraduate music education students who serve as assistant instructors during the semester.
Over 100 New Horizons bands have been established in the United States, Australia and Canada since their inception in 1991. In 1997, Dabczynski founded the first New Horizons Orchestra in Rochester, NY. The BYU orchestra, founded in 2003, is the first New Horizons Orchestra in Utah.
“It is not an exaggeration to say that each of the adult musicians I have seen take part in a New Horizons program have either met or exceeded their original expectations,” Dabczynski said. “Most of all, they find it a satisfying, stimulating and downright happy experience that positively affects the rest of their lives.”
For more information on the BYU New Horizons Orchestra, go to http://ce.byu.edu/cw/newhorizons.
