Twenty-six. That’s the average number of years that the 34 members of the Mount Si Community Band had been “off music” until they started practicing this November, said band director Dean Snavely.

Before this autumn, Cheryl Bachelder hadn’t touched a saxophone since 1969. She was nervous to pick up the brass after nearly four decades, but found that playing came back to her at rehearsals for the band, which will showcase rediscovered talents at a Friday, Dec. 19 holiday concert.

“I was afraid to blow the horn,” Bachelder said, but she gave it a try anyway, “counting on the muscle memory thing.”

Muscle memory worked for Bachelder and others. Snavely, who formed the band this fall after “threatening” to start one for years, said the musicians surpassed his expectations, causing him to upgrade to more challenging music than he’d planned on.

“People had a hard time remembering how to put a reed in their instrument, but once they got that figured out, their fingers went in the right place when the notes told them to,” said Snavely, who teaches music at Snoqualmie Middle School and plays music professionally.

“It’s kind of like riding a bike; it’s all coming back,” said Steven Crabb, who hadn’t played the trombone in the 30 years since he left Mount Si High School’s band program. He rented an instrument this fall, and plans to buy himself a trombone and keep playing.

Bachelder said the rehearsals “started off choppily, but every week we get to sounding a little better.”

The band had its fifth and final practice of the year on Monday, Dec. 15, gearing up for Friday’s concert. The show, featuring six holiday pieces including “Sleigh Ride,” will start at 7 p.m. at Mount Si High School’s auditorium. Donations to the Snoqualmie Middle School Music Boosters Association will be accepted.

After the holidays, Snavely expects the band will regroup. He’d like to get involved with North Bend’s centennial celebration.

Crabb suggested the band might put together marching pieces for parades at Snoqualmie’s Railroad Days and the Festival at Mount Si.

“But we might have to put everybody on a trailer ‘cause they’re too damn old to march,” Crabb joked.

The group welcomes new musicians age 18 and up, and Snavely encourages former band members to set aside their fears and reacquaint themselves with their instruments.

“I have not yet run into a person who played in middle school or high school and didn’t remember something,” he said.

• For more information about the Mount Si Community Band or its holiday concert, e-mail Dean Snavely at snavelyd@svsd410.org.