The lips keep music going

Music is a way for friends to keep together when the symphony ends

Carl Allen bought his trumpet on a whim. He was 16; the year was 1939, and he had just won $100 for growing the most corn on 1 acre in the local 4-H agricultural fair.

The impulse to order a shiny Blessing trumpet led to Allen's success as a musician in high school and college. But with the responsibilities of career and family, his beloved horn was relegated to the attic for the next 50 years.

"When I finished college, I just dropped it," said Allen, a manager with the American Tobacco Co. for nearly 40 years. "I didn't have any opportunities to play anywhere."

Then he read about the New Horizons Band, a group of older musicians who, like him, wanted to rekindle their love of music, even if their hands had not touched an instrument in years.

Playing in the band is one of several adult education options offered by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Duke University. More than 100 similar bands have formed across the country.

The Triangle band formed in 2001 and includes about 50 musicians who rehearse twice a week. The group recently added a chorus, and both give several performances a year. The band's spring concert will be 7 p.m. Monday at Durham Academy Middle School.

Despite the years, when Allen picked up his trumpet, the notes came flooding back. Still, there was a lot to learn.

Though he marched with the band at Elon College, he played the music by ear. It wasn't until he joined the New Horizons Band that he started learning to read music, he said.

The band is the perfect environment for new and seasoned musicians to learn, band co-manager John Stoller said.

"They can do their best and nobody's going to be critical," said Stoller, 73, who only recently learned to play the clarinet and read music himself.

The group, created for musicians 50 and over, is a place to be among friends, Stoller said. Members of the full band have even expanded into smaller bands that play Dixieland and swing music, he said.

It takes a little longer to get old fingers moving fast, and "old lips aren't as forgiving as young ones," he joked.

But this week, the musicians are moving quickly, practicing for their spring concert. On Monday, they will play side-by-side with middle schoolers at Durham Academy. It will be the fourth time for the two groups to collaborate, tackling songs that appeal to all ages, from classic overtures to The Beach Boys' "Surfin' U.S.A."