From behind the double doors of an annex to the Veterans Memorial Senior Center comes the disembodied whiff of music that can’t be – but it is – right out of “The Godfather.” Or is it back to Sorrento that this river of lush and romantic sound carries off someone who’s only gone out to walk the dog — and come within earshot of the Aurora Mandolin Orchestra?

Every Wednesday evening, musicians from as far away as Santa Cruz, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley gather to rehearse — strumming and plucking and picking the strings of instruments shaped like long-necked wooden spoons. The mandolin sometimes is also described as being shaped like “a teardrop,” which makes a lot of sense given that mandolin music is so moving. The Aurora Mandolin Orchestra’s 30 members – both professional and amateur musicians — play mandolin, mandola, mandocello, guitar, string bass, accordion, flute and percussion.