New Horizons International Music Association

Iris Othrow - click here to open/close

Iris Othrow is the President of the Board of Directors of New Horizons International Music Association for 2008. She is from McFarland, Wisconsin. Iris has been active with the New Horizons program for 15 years and helps by having served on the Board of Directors for Hooked on Bands (a support group for the Madison New Horizons Band) and with organizing band camps such as Door County's Weekend Band Camp held in Baileys Harbor in September.

Greetings! You’ve found the New Horizons International Music Association (NHIMA) web site. My name is Iris Othrow, and I am a baritone horn player with the Madison, Wisconsin New Horizons Band. I am honored to serve as the President of NHIMA for 2008. In this short message I’d like to share with you some information about New Horizons and welcome you on behalf of the NHIMA Board of Directors. NHIMA is a non-profit organization, led by a nine person volunteer Board of Directors, with Roy Ernst lending his guidance as a voluntary advisor to the Board. The members of the Board are associated with different New Horizons groups in the US and Canada. If you want to know more about any of the Board, go to our [Biographies] page.

Dr. Roy Ernst founded the New Horizons concept in 1991. You can read more about that by going to [Roy Ernst and the New Horizons Program] page.

You might ask, "Why have this organization? Or why should I belong to NHIMA?" The purpose of the organization is to create New Horizons music education programs for adults of all ages and support established New Horizons music groups. We offer information and assistance through a newsletter and web site. Our goal is to keep the New Horizons philosophy developed by Dr. Ernst. His philosophy is that anyone can learn to play music at a level that will bring a sense of accomplishment and the ability to perform in a group. He also feels that the style of instruction must be completely supportive and free of competition and intimidation. His motto is, "Your best is good enough." This philosophy creates a wonderful, enjoyable musical experience that welcomes everyone, provides for every skill level and helps us all strive to improve. Making music with friends becomes a fun, rewarding experience. NHIMA can help and support groups across the country and throughout the world. We want to do our best to make sure the opportunity to join a New Horizons group is available to more people, and that the New Horizons experience is as rich as it can be for existing New Horizons musicians. If you are not a member, please go to our [Membership] page, print the application and mail it to our treasurer.

Every New Horizons member has a story to tell. Please check our past Newsletters to read some of ours or submit yours to our editor, [Shirley Michaels], 1975 28th Avenue, #18, Greeley, Colorado 80634, 970-301-4585, for a future newsletter.

Any questions you have that aren’t answered by our [Frequently Asked Questions] page can be sent to the [Webmaster], and we will get back to you.

Our past leadership has been exemplary. I look forward to helping the organization grow and improve as we strive to meet the needs of our growing membership.

Iris Othrow
President, NHIMA
New Horizons Band of Madison Wisconsin

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