Every Monday, a group of people meet in McAllen with one thing in common, a love for music.

Now, they're getting ready for a "special" performance. The McAllen Wind Ensemble is this week's Made in the 956.

On a quiet January evening in McAllen, the Las Palmas Community Center slowly started to fill up.

People from all backgrounds, all ages and all walks of life came together for one thing, the sound of music.

"I'm the musical director for the McAllen Wind Ensemble," musical director Roger Olivarez said. "It's a group of musicians, some professional, some not professional. People who just want to continue playing their instrument, and they want to continue performing."

Right now, the group is rehearsing for their upcoming shows, and this year is a special one.

"This is our 50th year of the band, the 50th year of the McAllen Wind Ensemble, formerly the McAllen Town Band," Olivarez said.

For Olivarez, and other members, the band means a lot to them.

"For me, it filled a void. I was a band director for many years, and then in 2010 I became an administrator," Olivarez said. "It was a great job and I appreciated it, but there's something about not getting on the podium and making music. There was a void personally in my life, and this organization helped to fill that void, and it's been doing so for 10 years now."

That's a feeling that Jon Stevens can also relate to. He moved to the Rio Grande Valley years ago for work, but always felt like something was missing.

"But I hadn't found my connection to the community, and so I literally Googled up opportunities to play clarinet again, and I found the McAllen Wind Ensemble online, and it was great to reconnect with my passion for music," Stevens said.

For years, this band has been connecting the community with their love of music. Something Ray Norton has witnessed over the years.

"I have been their Emcee for, going on 29 years," Norton said. "I think getting a little bit of exposure and making people aware of what the organization is. They're all volunteers, we're all volunteers, and we do it because we love music, and we just think it's a very worthwhile community endeavor and one that people will really appreciate it if they just take the time to go and watch."

The group has two more shows left this season.

One on Feb. 13th, they're doing a show called Animation. It's going to feature themes and sounds from cartoons, video games, movies, and more.

Then on April 7, the group has their Golden Jubilee Concert celebrating 50 years.

For more information, go to mcallenwindensemble.org.