NHBT  provides musical education in a community band setting that is welcoming and supportive. Its members, mostly seniors, are from diverse racial, cultural, religious and socio-economic backgrounds. The band accepts members with musical experience ranging from no musical experience to experienced amateurs. Indeed, its Beginner I class starts with instruction on how to play your first note.

NHBT has five levels of concert band as well as enrichment classes in Jazz, music history, music technology and theory. It provides musical instruction that supports the mental and physical health of members of our community. Playing a musical instrument, especially in a group setting, has positive effects on mental health, not least of which is the effect on mood improvement. For seniors, playing music in a band setting reduces feelings of isolation and has been shown to delay, or even partly reverse, age-related dementia as well as improve mental acuity and manual dexterity.