The final concert of the 2019 summer season by the Karl L. King Municipal Band of Fort Dodge will be held this evening at the Karl L. King Band Shell in Oleson Park. Admission is free, courtesy of the city of Fort Dodge. Conductor of the Band is Jerrold P. Jimmerson, with David Klee serving as the assistant conductor.

There will be an ice cream social, starting around 6:30 p.m., provided by the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Bell Choir before the regular concert starts at 7:30 p.m. Concert-goers are reminded to bring their own lawn chairs or a blanket, since there is no seating provided.

The Karl L. King Municipal Band will feature a variety of marches, classical works, and popular selections during the hour-long concert. Selections by King are always on the program, including his most famous circus march “Barnum and Bailey’s Favorite” along with the “Royal Hippodrome Galop.” Former conductor W.B. Green’s march, “Trumpets Up,”is also on the program, along with former Boone resident Connie Rex Younger’s composition, “Sea Wise March.”

Special guest soloist will be Lucas Yoakam on trumpet. While in high school at Humboldt, he received the Major Landers Scholarship from the Iowa Bandmasters Association, and the Karl L. King Scholarships. He also performed in the All-State Band, Orchestra, and Jazz Band. He has been actively performing with the Karl King Municipal Band and Fort Dodge Area Symphony while in high school and at Iowa State University. At ISU he performed with the Wind Ensemble, Orchestra, and Jazz Band I. He recently received his bachelor’s degree in music education.

Next year Yoakam will be going to graduate school at Illinois State University in Normal. His teachers have included Tim Miller throughout middle and high school, and James Bovinette at Iowa State University. He will perform “Soliloquy for Trumpet” by John Morrissey and then be joined by his former teacher, Miller, for a trumpet duet titled “My Buddy Polka.”

The members of the percussion section — Jeremy Smith from Fort Dodge, Jon Merritt from Manson, and Rollie Jensen from Humboldt — will perform a medley of traditional rudimental drum solos with band accompaniment, titled “Field Ayres.”

This week’s classical selection is “Slavonic Rhapsody” by the German composer Carl Friedemann.

Lighter sounds will be heard with “Big Bands in Concert,” a musical snapshot from the Big Band era, including “A String of Pearls” from Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington’s “Satin Doll” and “Sophisticated Lady,” the “Intermission Riff” from Stan Kenton, and Sy Oliver’s “Opus One.”

A composition by former Fort Dodge resident, St. Edmond High School graduate, and former King Band member Joseph Blaha is also on the program. About three years ago, as director of bands at Roanoke College in Virginia, Blaha was considering something special for the upcoming 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s posting of the 95 Theses. Blaha composed two treatments of Martin Luther’s greatest hit, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.” The results were an arrangement of “Mighty Fortress” for the college jazz ensemble and another upbeat one for the concert band, “Celebrating the Mighty Fortress,” which is included on this program.

There will also be a special musical tribute to two members of the King Band’s saxophone section who are no longer with us — John McCartney and Ross Leeper. Both these gentlemen were long-time members of the band, totaling more than 30 years each. The King band will perform the jazz standard, “Misty,” featuring Jon Holmes from Fort Dodge as the alto saxophone soloist, in their memory.

This final summer concert always closes in the traditional circus way, with the playing of Karl King’s march, “Auld Lang Syne,” followed by our national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

The Karl L. King Municipal Band concert will resume for three winter concerts on Feb. 23, March 15, and April 19.