The Wheat Ridge High School chorus and jazz band are going to Stade, Germany for concerts April 16-24. The performances are part of a two-decade-long relationship between local high schools and Stade, Germany.
The relationship began as an offer to Lakewood’s high schools, according to Wheat Ridge High School vocal director Ryan Plakorus.
“Stade, which is just outside of Hamburg in Germany, is sister cities with the City of Lakewood,” Plakorus explained. “That was actually 20 years ago, this year.”
He said the partnership included trips between Stade and Lakewood for members of both communities.
“So, there was kind of a built-in infrastructure between the cities that was already there,” Plakorus said. “And then the band director, an English teacher and assistant principal that’s out there, saw this partnership. They decided it would be nice to reach out to schools in Lakewood to see if they would take the partnership in a different route and have it also student-centered and centered with something music.
“However, when the Stade teachers reached out to the Lakewood High School back then, all of them said no. So, the Stade teachers came next door to the city of Wheat Ridge,” Plakorus continued. He added that the music directors at WRHS were eager to start a partnership.
Over the last 20 years, the two schools have taken turns traveling between Wheat Ridge and Stade to “jam” together. Plakorus says that the relationship created over the years has made the trip to Germany easier for students and faculty.
“They traveled here and now it’s our turn to go out there for a week,” Plakorus said. “We’ll spend time with them and do some performances while we’re out there.”
He added that it’s been rewarding to see the learning experiences and growth happening for his students.
“It’ll be neat to come back and just see what all they’ve soaked in and have learned — not just about music, but about life. Seeing that change in that growth is something that I’m looking forward to,” Plakorus said.
WRHS choir and jazz band will perform two concerts with the Stade students while there.
The students are eager. Courtney Fawn, age 17, excitedly described the music selection.
“We have 13 songs in our repertoire,” Fawn said. “Six classical, six jazz. There’s a jazzy one that we’re singing all together with the Stade students. They’re learning it now. We’ll sing it together, their jazz band and our jazz band and then our choir.”
According to Plakorus, the chorus and jazz bands will sing a variety of songs for the community there. He said music is how students from two different countries will find common ground.
“I hope that they take away that we’re much more similar as people than different, even when we’re going to a different place in a different culture in a different country,” Plakorus said. “Hopefully, through music and through the connections that we make here, we will all realize that we’re really just people looking for connection and growth and just trying to be our best selves. Hopefully, this trip will help the students realize how they can be their best selves, and how we can do that together through music.”
Donations to the trip can be made on the WRHS Flip Cause page.
Help with instrumental music at ColoradoGives.org.To see the music students collaborate, check out this video on the Jeffco Public Schools YouTube page.