In a world where two hours a week, music knows no limits and learning knows no bounds, adults are able to step away from their nine to five job and pick up an instrument.
From adults picking up a cello for the first time to ones who are rekindling their love for music, New Horizons is striking a chord in their mission to bring joy through music.
Every Monday from 6:30pm to 8:30pm, Andrea Kleesattel and Audrey Jo Williams sit in the basement of Bell Trace Senior Living Community and teach two groups, the intermediates, and beginners. Members have the opportunity to learn the violin, viola, cello, or bass in one of these groups.
It was not always this organized though, in fact, Kleesattel and Williams did not even know each other before they began this group.
“It was on a zoom call,” said Williams. “And we were talking about a youth orchestra in town. And she just she slipped it into conversation that this is something she wanted to do. And I private messaged her real quick and I was like, we need to get in touch with this like as soon as possible and we need to do this.”
Andreia Sodre-Nichols, a data analyst for Spotify, was one of the many who bought into their idea by picking up a cello and coming to rehearsals.
“I fell in love with this one piece of music, and I was like, I want to play that,” said Sodre-Nichols. “Since I was stuck at home [during the pandemic], I was like sure.”
For Sodre-Nichols, the pandemic that wreaked havoc on the world showed a glimmer of hope in the opportunity for adults to continue learning. Quarantine gave many the opportunity to seek out passions totally unrelated to their jobs.
When Kleesattel and Williams caught on to this pattern, they took it as an opportunity to spread their long-lasting love of music with others.
“I enjoy doing that process for myself, hearing what’s in front of me, imagining what more it can be, and then trying to work with that and seeing what we can do,” said Kleesattel. “And so, it’s an opportunity for everybody to be doing that and growing together.”
The pandemic was also able to eliminate another challenge for the pair; the stigma that learning new things is just for kids.
Audrey Jo Williams on the dynamic of having adult students who are learning a new skill.
“I feel like I just got rid of that wall of like teacher student because they are adults. And so, so who cares, right,” said Williams.
Adults need a sense of belonging too, which is exactly what Sodre-Nichols has found in New Horizons since she has lived in Bloomington.
Andreia Sodre-Nichols on the place of belonging that New Horizons gave her in Bloomington.
New Horizons takes anybody from the very beginning, and at the very end, they perform a product of their work in a symphony of intermediate and beginner players all together.
Despite their almost immediate success, New Horizons is only in its infancy, with many more goals that they hope to achieve someday soon.
“I’m really excited to see where it goes. We have these ideas, and it can only get bigger, it just keeps getting bigger,” says Williams. “Maybe one day we’ll have a woodwind section, or a brass section, or a percussion section.”
Andrea Kleesattel on the success of New Horizons so far in their journey.
New Horizons runs through the Jacobs Academy at Indiana University and will perform their semesterly concert on December 11th, 2023.
