Some students spend their spring breaks laying on a warm beach, or perhaps on a road trip with friends or family.
For some of the more musically inclined students at Prior Lake High School, spring break meant a trip to the cradle of democracy.
One hundred and forty-three members of the PLHS marching band made the trip at the end of March to Greece to perform a mix of hits in a thoroughly American style.
Venues the band performed at include outside of the Holy Metropolitan Church in the heart of Athens and Constitution Square in the coastal town of Nafplio, two hours west of Athens on the Peloponnesian peninsula.
“The performances went really well,” said band director Keith Koehlmoos. “We had a nice program that was pretty listenable and accessible to the audiences we had. The kids sounded great.”
PLHS was part of a series of Minnesota bands to make the trek to Greece in March. Delegations from Hastings, Blake and Eastview high schools also performed in the country.
Upcoming concerts, fundraisers
There remain a few performances on the calendar this academic year for PLHS bands.
On Thursday, April 15, the jazz I band will perform at 7 p.m. at the PLHS auditorium, and the percussion ensemble will hold its spring concert May 9 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium. This all leads up to the spring band concert on May 19. The ninth grade band will take the auditorium stage at 6 p.m., while the wind ensemble and gold and blue varsity bands will follow at 7 p.m.
The band boosters have a pair of fundraisers this month to help generate funds for the bands: a spring flower basket sale and mattress sale at the high school.
Hanging baskets of spring flowers are available for $35, with orders due to any participating band student or the boosters by Friday, April 25. Orders can be placed with the boosters by emailing priorlakehsbandboosters@gmail.com. Baskets can be picked up at the east parking lot at PLHS on May 10, 9 a.m.-noon.
The mattress fundraiser will be at PLHS on Saturday, April 26, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. In addition to mattresses from sizes twin to king, premium pillows, mattress protectors and other accessories will also be available. More information can be found on the event’s Facebook page.
