The Karl L. King Municipal Band will continue its 2024 summer season on Sunday evening with a concert at the Karl L. King Band Shell in Oleson Park. Concert time is 7:30 p.m. There is no admission charge, courtesy of the city of Fort Dodge.

The Good Shepherd Lutheran Church will again be selling homemade ice cream and fresh-baked goodies before and during the concert. Persons attending these concerts are reminded to bring along their own lawn chairs or blankets. No public seating is provided.

Conductor of the Karl L. King Municipal Band is Jerrold P. Jimmerson, and the assistant conductor is Dan Cassady, with Paul Bloomquist as the announcer. “This concert will commemorate several musical milestones in America’s history,” commented conductor Jimmerson, “with music from the Revolutionary War time period to today.”

Persons attending this concert are encouraged to bring small American flags to wave at appropriate times during the concert. “There will be plenty of opportunities to proudly wave the red, white, and blue during this hour-long concert,” states conductor Jimmerson.

The concert features patriotic selections to celebrate the June 14th Flag Day. Marches on the evening program include “Emblem of Freedom” by Karl L. King, “Midway March” by John Williams from the movie “1941,” and “Red’s White and Blue March” by television star and comedian “Red” Skelton.

Many selections will provide a slice of pure Americana, with a variety of patriotic and folk songs on the program to salute our American flag. The King Band will perform a medley of well-known standards during “American Flourish,” including “Yankee Doodle” and “When Johnny Comes Marching Home.” On the lighter side is a collection of popular songs titled “Salute to Bob Hope,” which audience members are certain to recognize and remember, including “Thanks for the Memories.” Featured vocalist Roger Netz, from Manson, will lead the audience in “The Ultimate Patriotic Sing-Along,” which includes Lee Greenwood’s popular anthem, “God Bless the U.S.A.”

A contemporary composition, “The Light Eternal” by James Swearingen, is also on the program. This lengthy work for band tells the story in music of the four chaplains who died on February 3, 1943, when a German U-boat sank the USS Dorchester in the icy waters off the coast of Greenland. Of the 904 men aboard this American troop transport, 605 were lost. These four chaplains heroically gave away their life jackets, linked their arms together, prayed in either Latin or Hebrew or English, and then bravely sank with the ship. This thrilling composition is based on America’s national hymn, “God of Our Fathers.”

Commemorating the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, Scott Johnston from Fort Dodge will narrate a moving text based on a speech given by General Dwight D. Eisenhower. “Valor!” was written “in honor of the 75th Anniversary of D-Day, June 6, 1944.” It features a stirring tribute to the military veterans of that operation who helped pave the way for the end of World War II in Europe. This original composition by Dr. Gene Milford, a native of Canton, Ohio, and a senior lecturer in music education at the University of Akron, was premiered with the composer conducting by the King Band five years ago. Dr. Milford had kindly chosen to dedicate this work to conductor Jimmerson and the members of the Karl L. King Municipal Band.

The members of the percussion section will be featured performing “Dazzling Drums” with band accompaniment. This composition contains three drum cadences used by military camps to communicate with each other. Percussionists include Jeremy Smith from Fort Dodge, Rollie Jenson from Humboldt, and Luke Snyder from Eagle Grove.

The concert will close with John Phillip Sousa’s immortal march, “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” followed by our national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

In case of inclement weather, the concert may be cancelled at the starting time. Any announcements will be made on the band’s Facebook page listing for the Karl L. King Municipal Band at https://www.facebook.com/karlkingband/.