Have a trumpet that needs to be dusted off from those marching band days?

Want to find out if those clarinet skills from decades ago come back like riding a bicycle?

Or, are you a band member in high school wanting new experiences and opportunities to grow musically?

Well, it’s that time of the year again to get those questions answered.

It’s the time of the year for students and adults from all over the region to come together to begin rehearsals and form the Carroll County Community Band, in its 18th year.

“We are very excited about it,” said Jim Swiggart, the band’s director. “We are in our 18th year of bringing people together musically.”

The band’s fall rehearsals get underway from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 9, at the Berryville High School band room. That rehearsal will be the first of 10, held each Monday leading to a Nov. 17 concert at the Berryville Performing Arts Center.

Spring rehearsals then begin Monday, Jan. 27, and go 11 weeks before an April 27 performance.

Students from the four high schools in Carroll County participate and adults, many of whom have been in bands before — some even past band directors — have come from as far away as Hot Springs and Bella Vista, Swiggart said.

“The most thing is that we don’t stop and realize how important it is to provide music experiences for people who have a lifetime of being involved in music, and they no longer get to play, because there’s no place for them to play,” he said. “But, the most important thing, I think, is the students.

“We have students from four schools, Alpena, Green Forest, Berryville and Eureka Springs participate with us. They get a chance to get out and play with other people and play in a different environment. In two concerts we probably play close to 20 selections, so the students get to add something to their musical plate that they’re eating off of.”

The band typically has around 50 to 60 players, but all are encouraged to join, Swiggart said.

“We have a lot of space and there are no auditions,” he said. “The good part is if people haven’t played in a while, no problem. Just pick up your horn and come get comfortable again and play what you want to play, and you can fake it for a while until it comes back to you.

“When you get a chance to play, you never know where it’s going to take you. A lot of the adults haven’t played in a long time. We’ve had about nine or 10 band directors play with us. … A lot of them think it’s important to continue to play because once you get music in your blood, and you had a good time playing, it brings back memories. You want to be creative and that’s what we do. … I’ve seen music change lives.”

The Carroll County Community Band is a nonprofit, which uses sponsorships, donations and tickets to help annually send students to band camps on college campuses, said Swiggart, a retired music educator who ran Opera in the Ozarks for 25 years.

“We have a good reputation and are very well supported by businesses and individuals who appreciate the arts in the area,” he said.

That support helped 20 students attend band camps this year.

“What we are doing is important in more than one aspect,” Swiggart said. “We help students, we help adults. The main thing is we provide something for the community that most communities don’t have. We are a community band and provide two concerts, one before Christmas and one in the spring. At the end of that, because of all the generous donations that come from the businesses in our four communities and the individuals, we have money to send these kids to band camps. A band camp is around $500. … Because of this, the kids get to go to a university band camp and spend a week on a college campus, meet people from everywhere and work with different conductors.

“It’s a mind-opening experience, and it’s just a real treat and pleasure as a conductor and former music teacher to get to see all of this come about.”

The band has a good relationship with Doug Blevins, band director at Berryville High School, who also is a co-conductor alongside Swiggart for the community band.

“We are very fortunate that Berryville band hosts us,” Swiggart said. “We have a beautiful space to rehearse.”

While the first rehearsal will get started at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 9, new participants are encouraged to arrive a little early to get acclimated, Swiggart said.

“Be a little early to pick up some music,” he said.

For more information about the Carroll County Community Band, including ways to support it and for rehearsal information, visit carrollcountycommunityband. site.