Conductor Debbie Rohwer said she is always looking for original things to do with the senior citizen band that she directs. The concert she has planned with McKamy Middle School Band next Wednesday is one of those events.

The New Horizons Band, a 40-piece band that includes brass, woodwinds and percussion, has been active for 11 years at the Denton Senior Center.

“I try each year to get something novel for the seniors,” said Rohwer, who is on the music faculty at the University of North Texas College of Music. “One year, we went down to [the Texas Music Educators Association] for a concert, and then one year, we went to Oklahoma to play with another senior band. So, we’re always trying new things.”

The band will perform with the middle school band, a 50-member group conducted by Russell Cote. Rohwer selected the pieces the senior band will perform, Cote selected the music his students will play and the conductors put their heads together on the joint pieces.

“We were, basically, looking to find music that would appeal to audiences of both groups, and that turned into looking at music that would appeal to the older people in the middle school audience and the music that would appeal to the younger people in the senior band audience,” Rohwer said.

Together, the bands will play “The Magnificent Seven,” the theme of the 1960 western starring Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and Yul Brynner, a polka and a Scottish song based on “Auld Lang Syne.”

“I think that any group can get insular in thoughts about their growth,” Rohwer said. “It doesn’t matter if they are 40 years older or 40 years younger. I think this could be really good for both groups. The middle-schoolers might say, ‘Wow, these guys are older and they are learning and they’re pretty good.’ And the older players can look at the middle school band and see that, yes, they’re young and they’re learning fast.”

—Lucinda Breeding

What: a joint concert with the Denton New Horizon Band and the McKamy Middle School Band

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 21

Where: the University of North Texas College of Music Concert Hall, on Avenue C and Chestnut Street.

Details: Admission cost is $3. All proceeds benefit a fund that will help the senior band hire a graduate assistant.