Plymouth Municipal Band Announces Condensed Summer Schedule
The Plymouth Municipal Band announces its summer “Concert in the Park” series, which will take place in a condensed format due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The band will play three concerts and bring in two guest groups, beginning Thursday, July 16. All concerts will begin at 7 p.m. The lineup is scheduled as follows:
• July 16 – Sister Winchester, featuring sisters Jenna Lee and Shaun Marie singing rock, blues and folk music and joined by Dave Howell on percussion, Aaron Zepplin on guitar and Fred Velpel on bass.
• July 23 – Goodtime Dutchmen, a polka band led by Ralph Thull that has been playing a variety of polka and waltz favorites since the 1990s. Unfortunately, due to current social distancing guidelines, the high school Junge Kamaraden will not be able to make an appearance, and the traditional German Night menu will not be available.
• July 30 – Plymouth Municipal Band
• Aug. 6 – Plymouth Municipal Band
• Aug. 13 – Plymouth Municipal Band
The band will play a variety of fan favorites including musical numbers, marches, and movie themes. The group will begin practicing together on July 6, and members will follow social distancing on stage by sitting six feet apart, with no sharing of music stands. Park benches will be set up in accordance with social distancing guidelines, and concertgoers are encouraged to spread out throughout the upper grounds of the park to enjoy the music. The Plymouth Historical Society will sponsor concessions on July 16 and Aug. 13, and Masonic Lodge will sponsor Aug. 6. Other dates are still available. Interested groups should contact the city to get more information and to sign up.
This season, the Plymouth Municipal Band will be led by director Andrea Pannier, who has played in the band for nearly 18 years and has served as assistant director for several years. Andrea is the 14th director of the band, which has operated continuously since 1868, and is the group’s first female director.
Pannier is a 2002 graduate of Plymouth High School and has a bachelor’s degree in music education from UW-Oshkosh. She just finished her 12th year of teaching at St. Mary’s Springs Academy in Fond du Lac, where she directs the concert band, concert choir, vocal jazz and jazz band. She has led the band on numerous performance trips, including to Ireland in 2018. In her free time she plays guitar in a cover band with her brother, Brandon, called “Smith & the Pannier Kids.”
To get the latest details on the concession schedule and music selections for each concert, visit the group’s Facebook page at facebook.com/PlymouthPMB.