Share the Warmth Holiday Concert
Please join us for our annual holiday concert at Eden Prairie High School in Eden Prairie, Minnesota on Sunday, December 8th from 4:00- 5:30 p.m. Our goal with the concert is to spread holiday cheer by playing wonderful music that encompasses many different holidays, musical genres, and instrumentation.
While the concert is free, we ask that you consider supporting our community by donating non-perishable food items and warm clothing. All donations collected at the concert will go through P.R.O.P. (People Reaching Out to People), which is a non-profit that helps families in need in the southwest suburbs of Minneapolis.
Thank you for your continued support of the arts!
About Us
The Eden Prairie Community Band is an adult community band of over sixty musicians, organized in 1973 and currently under the direction of Tom Muehlbauer. Our purpose is to entertain the people of Eden Prairie and surrounding communities, while providing the traditional community band experience for adult musicians to play together for their mutual enjoyment and musical growth.
Our band and ensemble groups are eager to perform for all your concert and holiday celebration needs. For booking inquiries, please call or email Kristen Twitchell at (952) 949-8372 at the City of Eden Prairie.
The Eden Prairie Community Band and its ensembles are sponsored by the city of Eden Prairie. Thank you all for your continued support of the arts!
Our Ensembles
In addition to our concert band, our members participate in ensemble groups that include the following:
- Jazz on the Prairie Big Band: 20-piece Big Band ensemble
- The Prairie Ramblers: traditional New Orleans style jazz band
- The Prairie Brass: quintet (two trumpets, french horn, trombone and tuba)
- The Praire Winds: Woodwind and Jazz Ensemble
Upcoming Performances
for the 2024-2025 Concert Year
Concert Band
Monday, November 18th
6:00-7:00 p.m.
Minnetonka Senior Center
(Veterans and spouses free, children free under 10. All others guests pay $4. Guests are requested to pre-register at 952-939-8393 Mon-Fri, 8 a.m-4:30 p.m.)
Sunday, November 24th
1:30-3:00 p.m.
Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Chaska
(Arboretum gate admission required)
Sunday, December 8th - Share the Warmth Concert
4:00- 5:30 p.m.
Eden Prairie High School Auditorium
Donations of warm clothing & non-perishable foods to PROP Shop and PROP Food appreciated
Monday, February 3rd, 2025 - District Band Festival Concert
8:00-9:00 p.m.
Eden Prairie High School Auditorium
Sunday, March 16th, 2025 - Mosaic of Music Concert
4:00-5:00 p.m.
Performance Arts Center, Central Middle School, Eden Prairie
Thursday, May 29th, 2025
Time TBD
Pax Christi Catholic Community, Eden Prairie
Prairie Winds
Wednesday, November 27th - Ensemble
4:30-5:30 p.m.
Aurora On France, Edina
Saturday, Dec 7th - Ensemble
2:00- 3:00 p.m.
Eden Prairie Shopping Center
Wednesday, Dec 11st - Jazz Combo
3:00-4:00 p.m.
Windemere Assisted Living, Shakopee
Tuesday, Feb 18th, 2025 - Ensemble
11:00-11:40 a.m.
PROP Food Empty Bowls
St Andrew’s Church, Eden Prairie
Jazz on the Prairie Big Band
Saturday, December 14th
2:00-3:00 p.m.
Eden Prairie Shopping Center
Saturday, December 21st
1:30-3:00 p.m.
Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Chaska
(Arboretum gate admission required)
Tuesday, January 28th, 2025
7:00-9:00 p.m.
Eden Prairie School District Jazz Fest, Eden Prairie High School
The Prairie Ramblers Traditional Jazz Band
Friday, September 13rd
3:00-4:00pm
Summit Place Senior Campus
Saturday, October 12th
1:00-5:00 p.m.
Harvest to Halloween at the Riley-Jacques Barn, Eden
Prairie
Tuesday, February 18th, 2025 - Prop Food Empty Bowls
Time TBD
St Andrew’s Church, Eden Prairie
The Prairie Brass
Saturday, October 5th
11:00-2:00 p.m.
City Wide Open House at City Center, Eden Prairie
Friday, December 6th
6:00-7:30 p.m.
*MN Landscape Arboretum, Chaska
Saturday, December 7th
4:00- 6:00 p.m.
Eden Prairie Shopping Center Courtyard
Unless otherwise specified, all concerts are free and open to the public. To stay updated on our upcoming concerts, please follow our Facebook or Instagram accounts. More concerts are to come, so please follow those accounts and visit the website to stay up to day!
Weather Information: In case of inclement weather for outdoor concerts, check the Eden Prairie Parks and Recreation Weather and Information Line at (952) 949-8449. Press option 5 for Arts and Special Events to hear if an event has been cancelled or moved indoors..
Join Our Band
Please contact us if you are interested in joining our musical group. We are currently looking for Bassoon players.
Our rehearsals are Thursdays from 7:00-8:30 p.m. in the Eden Prairie Central Middle School Cafeteria located at 8025 School Road, Eden Prairie.
The band is open to adult musicians from Eden Prairie and surrounding communities. All instrumentalists are welcome. If you are interested, please email us.
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Our Back Stage Story
The Eden Prairie Community Band was founded with 23 players in 1973 by Mr. Emmet (Em) Stark. The objective of the “All Comers Band,” as the group was first called, was to serve as a creative outlet for high school students and adult members of the community. The band was a summer program through August 1981 before becoming a year-round band in 1982.
In 1996, the band was chosen to represent the United States as part of the musical celebration of Austria’s millennium. The trip included performances in several Austrian cities as well as in Budapest, Hungary. In 1998, the band returned to Europe with an extensive tour of Italy and Switzerland.
Marilyn Rateike became the director of the Eden Prairie Community Band upon Mr. Stark’s retirement in 1999. In 2002, the band traveled to China when they were invited by the Chinese American Cultural Bridge Center to participate in a cultural exchange program. The band toured and played in Ireland and Scotland in 2005.
Thomas Maeck took over for Marilyn in 2006. In 2008, the EPCB toured and performed in Greece under his leadership. During his tenure, the band was proud to be a part of a newly commissioned work for band entitled “Streets of Honor” by Daniel Kallmen.
Tom Muehlbauer enthusiastically stepped into the director role in 2016.
Band members also have the opportunity to perform in ensemble groups, including Jazz on the Prairie and The Prairie Ramblers. Mr. Stark originally created the Jazz on the Prairie ensemble before Jerry Cerchia became the director upon Mr. Stark’s retirement. Don Bates took over in 2002 and the jazz band now meets weekly and performs several concerts in Eden Prairie and surrounding communities each year. The group even hosts several area Jazz bands at its annual Minnesota Festival of Jazz on the Prairie at the Staring Lake Amphitheatre.
The band also provides community services. Members of the community band comprise the pit orchestra for the musicals staged by the Eden Prairie Players Community Theater every summer. Every December, the band performs at its annual Share the Warmth concert, where audience members are encouraged to donate food to the local food shelf and warm clothing to PROP FOOD and PROP Shop.
Our band and our ensembles also practice lifelong learning by partnering with local school districts. Adult and student musicians perform side-by-side in annual festivals to inspire students to continue in their musical endeavors.