The Karl L. King Municipal Band’s 2019 winter season opens with three Sunday concert dates, the first of which will be in February.

The concerts will be on Feb. 17, March 17, and April 7. They begin at 3:30 p.m. in Decker Auditorium on the Iowa Central Community College campus in Fort Dodge. The concerts are free and provided by the city of Fort Dodge.

Conductor Jerrold P. Jimmerson is in his 16th season with the King Band, after a 43 year playing career, 11 of which were under the baton of Karl L. King.

King was born on Feb. 21, 1891, in Paintersville, Ohio. After his childhood in Ohio, he left at the age of 19 and traveled for nine years with several circuses, conducted some of their bands, and reached the pinnacle of success as conductor of the famous Barnum and Bailey Circus Band during the 1917 and 1918 seasons.

He returned to his hometown of Canton, Ohio, after his trouping days were done in November of 1918 to settle down with his wife, Ruth, and to direct the local Grand Army of the Republic Band there.

The Feb. 17 concert in Fort Dodge will be the King Band’s annual tribute to King in honor of his birthday. The concert will include some of King’s best-known and most popular compositions, along with some of his music that was published 100 years ago, in 1919.

The March 17 concert will be the King Band’s annual Irish Concert to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. The concert dates back to the early days of the King Band under King’s direction.

The April 7 concert is the King Band’s annual Scholarship Concert, where talented high school seniors and college freshmen audition for three scholarships that the Band annually administers. In addition, the concert will tie into the annual cultural emphasis for Iowa Central Community College. This year’s featured country is Vietnam.