About New Horizons International
The New Horizons International Music Association
The New Horizons International Music Association (NHIMA) is a worldwide organization comprised of over 200 New Horizons groups whose 9,000 members are over the age of 50. The New Horizons Music programs were founded by Dr. Roy Ernst at the Eastman School of Music in 1991 with the first New Horizons Band. His idea was it is never too late to begin to play a musical instrument.
For over twenty years, the New Horizons Music program has helped musical groups form to give seniors an opportunity to learn (or re-learn) how to play an instrument or become active in other musical endeavors.
These music groups provide the environments and the positive experiences conducive to learning musical skills and techniques in comfortable social settings. The New Horizons philosophy, “Your best is good enough”, is the overarching umbrella that captures the positive spirit necessary for senior musicians to engage and succeed.
Learning to play an instrument and perform in a group gives seniors many tangible as well as intangible benefits. Research has confirmed that actively putting music in your life improves mental health, lowers blood pressure, exercises the brain, and provides a sense of satisfaction and well-being.
While the New Horizons Program was founded to serve those 50 and over, we do not exclude interested adults of any age.
For more information about the New Horizons International Music Association and its many programs, go to:
Founder of New Horizons
Roy Ernst, PhD
Roy Ernst, professor emeritus at the Eastman School of music in Rochester, NY, taught at Eastman for 25 years and chaired the music education department for 12 years. In 1991, Dr. Ernst started the first New Horizons Band at Eastman for the purpose of creating a model program emphasizing entry and reentry points to music making for older adults.
Later, he became the founding director of the New Horizons Music Project, funded by the National Association of Music Merchants and the National Association of Band Instrument Manufacturers. In that capacity, he used the New Horizons Band as a model to assist in starting more than 60 similar programs in the United States and Canada.
Born in 1938 in Troy, Michigan, Dr. Ernst received his BS and MS degrees from Wayne State University, and a PhD from the University of Michigan. He began his teaching career in elementary and secondary schools in Michigan, and was part of the performance faculty of Wayne State University from 1964-1968. In 1971, he was appointed assistant professor of music at Georgia State University, Atlanta, where he became chairman of the wind department and conductor of their wind ensemble.
In 1984, he was a visiting professor at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in Sydney, Australia. Dr. Ernst’s honors include the President’s Arts Achievement Award from his alma mater; an Outstanding Educator Award from the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra; the Richard Snook Educator Award from the Monroe County Music Educators; and recognition as a Grand Master of Music Education by the Music Educators National Conference.
Dr. Ernst has published books and articles on conducting, flute performance, and music education, and is founding director of The Aesthetic Education Institute in Rochester, NY. He conducts frequently at New Horizons Institutes—national and international events for New Horizons Band and orchestra members.