Leon Sepuka was 33 when he decided to join the Dartmouth Community Band in 1974.

His goal was to learn to read music and to develop the skills to join what so many people were listening to back then _ a disco band.

Fifty years later, he sat among the crowd at Apponagansett Beach on Tuesday, Juy 16, listening to that very same band celebrate a half century of performing.

“Now I have the pleasure of enjoying music,’’ he said, smiling as he listened.

At 83, he reflected that the concert “illuminates a journey I started 50 years ago.’’ And he likes the idea that the band was open to everyone willing to learn. “Everybody had to go through the same process.’’

Organized in 1974 by Charles Herman and Ed Santos, the band began as a musical outlet for adults. The band now performs weekly Tuesday concerts at the beach and entertains at a variety of community events.

At their 50th anniversary performance, the band played a range of pieces, including some that were popular in the 1970s when the musicians took their first bow. Numbers from the 70s, including “Copacabana,’’ “I Wish,’’ and “Signed, Sealed, Delivered’’ shared the bill with marches, patriotic pieces and a medley from Queen.

John Furtado was the conductor. He has led the band since 2016.

“Honestly, it’s really impressive,’’ said Leanne, who declined to give her last name. She was relaxing on a blanket taking in the sounds. “They always play well.’’

She admires the range of ages of the musicians, from high schoolers to those in their 40s and 50s.

Liz Bosworth attended to listen to her drummer son Miles and trumpeter husband Eric. Miles was in seventh grade when he decided to join. Dad decided to follow, she said.

John Haran and Janine Simmons try to attend all the concerts, he said. “We appreciate the effort they put in,’’ he said.

Simmons said she enjoys the “fabulous music and beautiful, relaxing’’ evening.

She notes that they have been going to the performances for some time.

She clarified one point. With a laugh, she added, “but not for 50 years.’’

That honor was reserved for the band that has entertained the community for half a century.