FLORENCE, Ky. — The Florence Community Band gives people who aren’t ready to hang up their instruments a chance to keep doing what they love.

Jackie Crabtree has been playing the flute since she was in the fifth grade. She wasn’t going to be a professional musician, but that didn’t mean she wanted to stop playing after high school band.

“It’s what fulfills me," said Crabtree, a member of the band. "It’s what brings calm to me. It’s what fills me with joy; you get to be part of a group."

"You are connecting with everybody around you just by doing your job, and everybody’s doing their job. You’re making this beautiful sound, so it’s like you’re tied to everybody. And that’s what I love."

The nonprofit started in the early '80s to give people like Crabtree the chance to keep playing. She’s been with the band since almost the very beginning.

“We all speak the same musical language,” she said. “You’re just all locked in together, and you’re just, like, moving together. And it’s just this feeling of, you are a part of a whole.”

The City of Florence pays to operate the band, allowing them to perform concerts year round.

Chris Peterson, a former high school band director for 32 years, plays with the band and sometimes fills in as director.

“You really can do it your whole life," Peterson said. "Even if you don’t have the skill you used to have when you were younger, you can still play at a professional level and maintain a fairly proficient level well in age. It never goes away; it’s like riding a bike."

“It’s kind of like a sport when you’re getting it to all come together. But there really is nothing like music where you have so many different people, and everybody’s playing a different role. There’s really a lot of individual responsibly in this, and to hear that all come together is really neat.”

From high schoolers to seniors, the band's members range in age. There are no tryouts.

The band is practicing to qualify to play at the state music convention. Crabtree has played with many of her bandmates for years and said she wouldn’t want to be doing this with anyone else.

“Even if you don’t want to major in music, there’s always a place to play your horn, so don’t put it away," she said. "Keep playing because there’s a whole group of us ... that’s what we like to do, and there’s a place for you."

"We are all hooked on music. That's our thing." 

More information about the band, including a concert schedule, is on its website.