No business plan, focus group, or grant request preceded the birth of the Santa Fe Community Orchestra. A couple of amateur musicians, who didn't know that starting an orchestra might be difficult, found a willing conductor, recruited a few friends, and made it work. Over the course of 25 years the orchestra has played a hundred concerts and found a place in the musical life of Santa Fe. This is its story. Like most members of the Santa Fe Community Orchestra (SFCO), James Preus's avocation has been music. And like other members, music is a very important part of his life. His instrument, the bassoon, is not a party instrument or one to entertain around a campfire; it requires the interaction with other instrumentalists, most appropriately in a symphony orchestra. That makes the SFCO a very important organization to him and the other members of the orchestra. Jamses has an undergraduate degree in music education and a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from the University of Minnesota. Now retired, for most of his professional life he was an administrator at the University of Minnesota. Playing in an orchestra, in musicals, and in chamber music were all part of his avocational life. The availability of a community orchestra was a factor in moving to Santa Fe, and so this book is payback for the existence of that opportunity.