Music might be a hobby for some. For others it might even be a career. But for the Khan family, music means so much more — it’s what first brought them together.

Windermere-area residents Peter and Nina Khan together lead The Elite Show Band — a musical outfit of up to 14-plus members that performs everything from rock and pop to jazz and Big Band music.

With Nina singing and Peter on guitar and vocals, the band has traveled the world, with gigs across North America, South America, Europe and Asia. They’ve also appeared on television on the Travel Channel and BBC. While Peter and Nina have seen the world together, the couple chose the Windermere area as home — moving there in April to raise their two boys, James and Romeo.

“I don’t know if it’s the sunshine or the vitamin D or whatever, but people are very friendly here — we love the diversity (too), that’s a huge deal for us,” Nina said.

DESTINY ON A DISNEY CRUISE

Peter and Nina might never have met if it wasn’t for their musical abilities and performance backgrounds. The two first met on a cruise ship when they were hired separately to perform by Disney Cruise Lines in 2004 — Nina had a background in musical theater and Peter was playing in a band.

“I wasn’t really crazy about working on a cruise ship, honestly,” Peter said. “It’s not something that I had planned, but I guess timing was everything.”

“It wasn’t in my plan either to ever be on a cruise ship — I never thought that was something I’d ever do,” Nina said.

After going their separate ways, two years went by before Peter and Nina met once again while performing on another Disney cruise. 

The two connected and fell in love. Nina decided to make a career change from being the MainStage dance captain to join Peter’s band. The couple formed their own company, got married and thus The Elite Show Band was born.

From 2007 to 2011, Peter, Nina and The Elite Show Band continued to perform and travel on cruise ships up until their son, James, was born.

At that point, the family chose to stay on dry land, slowing down a bit and transitioning to performing at weddings and corporate events.

“We said ‘OK, we got to be like a normal person,” Nina said.

“We were playing six to seven nights a week — four to five hours of high-energy stuff,” Peter said.

THE POWER OF MUSIC

Peter and Nina still spend plenty of time on the stage performing for crowds of spectators, but music follows the couple back to their home with their two young boys. A love for music resonates through the Khan house. The children get ready in the morning listening to music from “The Lion King,” and James is already interested in drums.

Music has been an amazing blessing for the Khan family, Peter said.

“We feel that music is the common thread in our lives that has given us our life, has given us the opportunity not just to meet each other, but to be with each other, to make our own schedule and to travel the world,” Peter said. “We love music — we know it resonates and we know it changes people.”