History

Band Celebrates a Decade of Music-Making

Band part photo
The band began with few and are now over 50 active members

By the time the New Horizons Band of Cincinnati celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2009, it had grown into a strong organization with more than 40 dedicated musicians who could play marches or show tunes for their own pleasure or for audiences across the region.

petemetzger
Pete Metzger

It took real imagination to envision that outcome back in January 1999 when a few willing-but-weak-lipped seniors gathered for an inaugural rehearsal at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Montgomery.

One of those visionaries was Pete Metzger, the organization’s first musical director.

“Our first rehearsal brought out about 8 or 9 people”, Metzger recalls. “We had to start out with fifth and sixth grade music, playing whole notes and half notes, since some of our ’bandsmen’ hadn’t played for decades or had never touched an instrument.

“We had no tuba and no drummer, so when we staged our first concert at St. Barnabas we invited a few other musicians to sit in with us.”

By the time the New Horizons Band of Cincinnati celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2009, it had grown into a strong organization with more than 40 dedicated musicians who could play marches or show tunes for their own pleasure or for audiences across the region.