The Ole Brook Wind Symphony is running low on local musicians. They need more or Brookhaven could find that their own community wind symphony has been taken over by McComb. The symphony will soon start preparing for its annual spring concert, and they’re on the lookout for new members of all ages from 15 into adulthood.

Practice begins Tuesday and will be at the Alexander Junior High band room on Green Street at the northwest corner of the school from 7 until 9 p.m. Steve Edge, a tuba player with the symphony, said there is plenty of room for new members. The symphony doesn’t turn players away, and anyone who is interested can just show up with an instrument.

“Come play with us,” Edge said in a media release. “We need woodwinds, brass and percussion players. It doesn’t matter if you are out of practice. Your skills come back after awhile.”

The date for the spring concert is to be determined, but Edge said it will be on one Tuesday in April, with a second concert for fall or Christmas coming in November or December.

“We practice two hours most Tuesday nights for our concerts,” Edge said.

The symphony usually plays two concerts for spring and fall, one in Brookhaven and one in McComb. Recently, Edge said that McComb has been stealing the show, both in symphony membership and concert attendance.

“We had a big crowd in McComb,” Edge said of the 2019 Christmas concert. “It was exciting. We had more than 250 people.”

The symphony was founded in 2001. Faces and names are always changing, but the core idea of the symphony is to provide a place for people who don’t have anywhere else to play. Players come from all ages, backgrounds and skill levels. Edge said that when he started playing in the wind symphony, he hadn’t played in 35 years.

“It’s not necessary that you’re particularly good,” he said. “It’s just necessarily you can come and enjoy it. If you haven’t played in a year or two or 30 or 40, it takes awhile to get in practice again. But that’s OK.”

Edge can be reached at 601-835-0111 for more information.