The Karl L. King Municipal Band of Fort Dodge will open its 2024 summer season on Sunday evening at the Karl L. King Band Shell in Oleson Park. Concert time is 7:30 p.m., and will be preceded by an ice cream social, served by the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, starting around 6:30 p.m.

These concerts are free to all, and are provided as a public service by the City of Fort Dodge. Directing the band again this season will be Jerrold P. Jimmerson, with Dan Cassady serving as the assistant conductor and Paul Bloomquist as the band’s announcer. Persons attending these concerts are reminded to bring their own seating, since no public seating is provided.

Conductor Jimmerson has programmed a wide variety of selections based around the theme “The Sounds of Summer.” Marches scheduled to be performed include “Cyrus the Great” and “Trouping Days,” both written by the band’s namesake, Karl L. King, along with Amanda C.E. Aldridge’s march, “On Parade.” Other Karl King compositions on the program include his fast-paced circus galop, “Sunshine” and “Remembrance,” a dirge that will be played in memory of Ardella Hein from Fort Dodge. Ardella Hein recently passed away at age 89. She had a 28 year teaching career at St. Paul’s Lutheran School and a performance career of 45 years with the Karl King Band and 48 years with the Fort Dodge Area Symphony.

Classical offerings for the evening include the “Atlantis Suite (The Lost Continent),” a descriptive work written by V.F. Safranek, along with the sounds of the Boston Pops Orchestra with “On the Esplanade,” from the Bostonia Suite. On the lighter side will be highlights from George Gershwin’s well-known opera, “Porgy and Bess.” The members of the saxophone section will be featured on Billy Joel’s popular “Root Beer Rag.”

Guest soloist will be Lucas Yoakam, trumpet, a graduate of Humboldt High School and the son of Kathy and Dennis Yoakam from Humboldt. Lucas received his bachelor’s degree in music education from Iowa State University, and his master’s degree in trumpet performance from Texas State University. Lucas is a current graduate student at the University of Illinois where he is working to receive his doctor of musical arts degree in trumpet performance and literature.

While living in central Iowa, Lucas performed regularly with the Fort Dodge Area Symphony, Ames Municipal Band, and the Karl L. King Municipal Band. While in Texas, he performed with the San Antonio and Austin Symphonies. In Illinois, Lucas now performs with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra and the Champaign-Urbana Symphony.

Lucas will perform “The Magic Trumpet” by James Burke, and will then be joined by his former instructor, Tim Miller from Humboldt, for a duet performance of “My Buddy Polka.”

Guest conductor for this concert will be Monte Leichsenring from Clarion, in place of Dan Cassady. Monte graduated from Westmar College in LeMars in 1981. From 1981 to 1986, he was the fifth through 12th grade band director at Boone Valley Schools in Renwick. He then became the sixth through eighth grade band director at Clarion-Goldfield Dows Community Schools until his retirement in 2015. He once again has served this past school year as the fifth grade and high school band director in Clarion.

Leichsenring is a long-time member of both the Karl King Municipal Band and the Fort Dodge Area Symphony. He was recently awarded the Karl L. King Distinguished Service Award – Retired by the North Central Iowa Bandmasters Association. He will direct two selections on the evening’s concert; first, Larry Daehn’s tribute to the late movie actor James Dean, “As Summer Was Just Beginning,” and then John Philip Sousa’s march, “Manhattan Beach.”

Each concert always closes in the traditional way, with the playing of our National Anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

In the event of inclement weather, the concert may be canceled. Any announcements will be made on the band’s Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/karlkingband/ or on the band’s website at www.karlking.us.