Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Delta Omicron Citation Presented to New Horizons Founder - Dr. Roy Ernst

Delta Omicron International Music Fraternity presented a Citation to Roy Ernst, Ph.D. in Rhinebeck, New York on June 22, 2005. Citations are presented by Delta Omicron as part of its mission to promote and support excellence in music and musicianship. Epsilon Province President Desiree Baxter, assisted by Delta Omicron alumna Lily Nehman, presented the Citation on behalf of the Board of Directors.

The Citation recognizes Dr. Ernst’s “achievements as founder of the New Horizons Music Project at Eastman School of Music that led to the New Horizon Band Movement throughout America.” As described on the New Horizon website, “The New Horizon Music programs provide entry points to music making for adults, including those with no musical experience at all and also those who were active in school music programs but have been inactive for a long time.” The movement is now international with bands in Canada and Ireland.

In 1991, Dr. Ernst, with funding from the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) and the National Board of Instrument Manufacturers (NABIM), started the New Horizon Band at the Eastman School of Music. That first band in Rochester, New York was designed for a senior population and had a minimum age of 50, the age eligibility for joining AARP. That band was used as a model for starting over 100 similar programs for adults of all ages throughout North America, including orchestras and, more recently, choruses.

Members of New Horizons groups attend New Horizon camps and workshops and ensembles arrange “exchange concerts” with other groups. Like Delta Omicron, these groups truly “create and foster fellowship through music,” and Dr. Ernst’s work exemplifies the Delta Omicron objective “to stimulate appreciation of good music at the community level.”

Roy Ernst began his career in Michigan, where he taught instrumental music in elementary and secondary schools. He received his B.S. and M.S. from Wayne State University and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. Before moving to Eastman in 1975, he taught flute, conducted the wind ensemble and was a member of the music education faculty at Georgia State University. He is now Professor Emeritus of the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester, where he taught for 25 years and chaired the music education department for twelve years.

After years of promoting and fostering this project, one would assume that Dr. Ernst would be ready to pass the baton. That notion is quickly dismissed when he begins speaking about establishing bands in Ireland and Australia or assessing the challenges of choirs of older adult voices. Delta Omicron commends Dr. Ernst and the New Horizons Music Program and wishes their continued success in the future.