Now is their time and they hope to make the most of it.
Members of the Charlotte County Concert Band are celebrating their 50th year of bringing music to the area, along with a new name and the opportunity to draw from a wider pool of patrons.
Since October the group has been called Symphonic Winds of Charlotte County.
Then early this year, the Punta Gorda Symphony announced it was struggling financially and its January concert was likely its last.
While not wishing their symphony colleagues any ill will, band members see a chance to share what they have to offer with symphony patrons and the rest of the community.
Symphonic Winds will commemorate its 50th anniversary during the fourth performance of its six-show 2023-24 season — titled “50 Years of Band Music in Charlotte” — at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 9 at the Charlotte Performing Arts Center, 701 Carmalita St., in Punta Gorda.
Symphonic Winds drew a crowd of 500 at its Jan. 12 concert.
Principal clarinetist Douglas Joyce said people walked up to him afterward and told him, “We never knew you were here. We go to the symphony all the time but we never knew that the Symphonic Winds was here. What a great concert.”