Naples New Horizons Band
Of Naples, Florida
About
About the New Horizons Music idea…
The first New Horizons Band was started in 1991. With the help of the Eastman School of Music and The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), Roy Ernst conceived and put into action the model that turned into New Horizons Music. His philosophy was that rather than pressuring players by expecting perfection, the motto would be, “Your best is good enough.”
And you don’t need years and years of experience to join a New Horizons ensemble. Roy’s plan for this movement was, “If you want to play and can only finger one or two notes, join us and play them!” Then, through band practices and, perhaps, some individual or group music lessons, more and more notes come along.
About Naples New Horizons Music…
Our New Horizons Band began in about 2002 by Eric Ernst (Roy’s brother) at Imperial Wilderness RV Resort in East Naples. In 2003, Eric’s wife met Ken Carper, a music teacher working in a school next door to Imperial Wilderness and they talked about Eric’s new band. Ken, who knew Roy Ernst through his Master's Degree work at the Eastman School of Music, was pleased to spend twenty seasons as the band's music director. In the fall of 2024, John Salminen became the band's 2nd director!
Early sessions were, basically, group lessons with a dozen, or so, participants playing pages from the Essential Elements music books. Soon, performances of three or four songs were taking place at nearby churches and clubhouses. Within a few years the band more than quadrupled in size and was performing with a very musical sound! They’ve been featured in the Naples Daily News, as well as a short feature on WGCU television.
With the pandemic came the need to practice outdoors and spread out to safe distances. Since 2022 the band (now nearly 60 pieces) has made the amphitheater at the Golden Gate Community Center it’s home. Two-hour rehearsals take place each Thursday morning from mid-October through early April. And smaller ensembles (swing jazz band, quintets, etc.) have been organized, too. The band’s repertoire includes easy pieces (Level 1 ½ ) through Level 4 difficulty and performs about eight times through the season.
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