FREDONIA, N.Y. — Karen Davis, 73, is learning how to play the marimba. She also plays the clarinet and started in the fifth grade.

"But I won't tell you how long that's been," she said.

What You Need To Know

  • More older adults are picking up the instrument they first played in middle school

  • New Horizons Band of WNY is one of many around the state and country

  • The group accepts musicians of all skill levels

She stopped playing after her senior year in high school.

"I figured that was my last concert; closed my clarinet, figured that was it. I didn't have time for it in college," she said.

Fast forward 42 years — after retiring, Davis has joined the New Horizons Band of Western New York, based at SUNY Fredonia, where she has resumed playing her clarinet.

"I decided I needed to get back and play some music," she said.

New Horizons is primarily an ensemble of older adults that originated and still operates a band in Rochester, and also features bands in Potsdam, Oswego and Syracuse.

"Like a new beginning, it's definitely given me a different lease on life. This is much more relaxed. We play as well as we can play. And our director Kate is wonderful about that," said Davis.

The band's director, Kate McKay, a professor emeritus of music education at Fredonia, welcomes older musicians of all levels.

"You really can learn to play something and you really can come back to it. So when they retire, they are looking for things to keep their minds sharp and to have fun. And it's hard to go back to an instrument without some kind of support," McKay said.

Some of that support comes from the current generation of music students and other conductors working to help the musicians thrive.

"Like riding a bicycle, yes, it might be difficult to balance when your older, but you don't forget how to do it. It's good for your mind, it keeps you sharp. You're reading a different kind of symbol system. You're using your physical coordination. You're having to listen and put things together. You're having to work in real time. And of course you're socializing, which is super important to maintaining our health and our outlook as we age," said McKay.

That's what's important to Davis, who says playing again gives her a feeling of accomplishment. She encourages others to give it a try.

"Helps with the brain. I don't think we'd have 65 people here on a regular basis, if it wasn't fun for everyone that's here," she said.

New Horizon bands are also in several other states as well as a handful of countries around the world.