Because local dance bands had trouble finding musicians during World War II, Herb Krombholz found himself playing drums with a combo at the age of 13. After playing with military and community bands for years, the Indian Hill man became too busy for hobbies after his father’s death in 1972 left him running the family jewelry business.

That was when he accepted an invitation to join the New Horizons Band, of Cincinnati, a community band that welcomes both former musicians and those who have never played.

Except for a summer break and the Christmas break, the 45 member band rehearses every Tuesday and Thursday morning, September through May, at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, 10345 Montgomery Road. Rehearsals run from 9:30 until 11:30 a.m. with a mid-morning coffee break!

“Although the band plays concerts at nursing homes and other local venues, the emphasis is on musical education as well as fellowship -- working with new friends as a team,” says Don Rhoad, 73, leader of the Band Council. Rhoad had never played an instrument until wife Helen presented him with a euphonium just before his retirement in 2002.

Research has demonstrated that active participation in music can help adults remain physically healthy and mentally alert. Members find a band fulfills several needs: the need for challenging intellectual activity, the need  to have exciting events to look forward to and the need to be a contributing member of a group. Participants quickly become an important part of the group and establish new friendships.

The local band, sponsored by Buddy Roger’s Music, is one of 130 New Horizons bands in the U.S. and Canada. Founder Roy Ernst, professor emeritus of the famed Eastman School of Music, opened the first in Rochester, N.Y., in 1991.

“I just didn’t have time for it and dropped out,“ says Krombholz, now 74 and retired. “I didn’t pick up the drum sticks again for 20 years.“