Kingdom of the Sun, a community of musicians host Christmas concert

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Posted December 1, 2021 | By Rosemarie Dowell
Correspondent

When bassoonist Libby Morgan moved to Ocala in 1990, it didn’t take her long to find fellow musicians who soon mentioned a fledgling community band.

“I was told a new band was forming and there had only been one or two rehearsals,” said Morgan, 61, whose father was her high school band director at Blackford High School in Indiana. “I hadn’t missed out on much.”

The former Houston resident quickly sought out the group and soon became one of around 35 charter members of the Mid-Florida Symphonic Band, which changed its name to the Kingdom of the Sun Concert Band the following year.

Now, 31 years later, the 90-plus-member community band is gearing up for its much-anticipated annual holiday concert. The all-volunteer group, under the direction of Les Muncaster, does five concerts each year, with performances on both Saturday and Sunday. The band also performs at events and festivals throughout the year.

Kingdom of the Sun’s holiday concert, “A Christmas Prelude,” will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday (Dec. 4-5) at Marion Technical Institute, 1614 Fort King St., Ocala.

“I love all the concerts we perform, but the Christmas concert is special because it kicks off the holiday season,” said Morgan. “It’s always so much fun.”

Some of the musical selections featured will include, “Prelude on Adeste Fideles,”, “The Christmas Song,”, “Carol of The Bells,”, songs from “Babes in Toyland,”, “Minor Alterations,” and “A Home Alone Christmas.”

“I’ve changed it up a little bit this year,” said Muncaster, 84, who’s been at the helm of the non-profit band for 23 years, serving as conductor and music director. “I hope people leave the concert with an upbeat feeling and singing songs.”

The free concert will comprise some audience participation too, he said.

“We always like to do some toe-tapping sing-a-longs and get people in a merry mood,” said Muncaster, who served in the U.S. Air Force Band for 27 years, including 15 years touring Europe, performing at embassies and beer and wine festivals.

Muncaster’s wife, Marcia, a vocalist who also served in the Air Force Band, is a member of Kingdom of the Sun as well. The couple has lived in Ocala for 29 years, moving from Biloxi, Mississippi.

“She sings the National Anthem to start each concert and usually performs a song or two,” he said.

The band members are a diverse group, ranging in age from just 13 up to 94-years-old. A handful are retired music educators (Morgan’s father, who wintered in Ocala, was a member for nearly 17 years before he passed away, and her oldest son, Kyle, now a UCF student, also performed with the band), while others are former professional musicians.

“We have three middle school and three high school students,” said Muncaster. “The 13-year-old plays alto-sax, while the 94-year-old plays trombone.”

Navigating through the early 2020 COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent pandemic was difficult for the group. Rehearsals and concerts were put on hold for months.

“We were finally allowed back into the school to rehearse in October 2020,” said Muncaster, a native of Detroit. “It felt great to be together again and play music.”

However, indoor concerts were still a no-go, so the group held its concerts outdoors at the Ocala-Marion County Veteran’s Memorial Park.

“We started rehearsing in October and had concerts at the park in November, December, and in the spring this year as well,” he said. In July, Kingdom of the Sun was finally able to have performances at Marion Technical again. Concert-goers were encouraged to wear masks and maintain social distancing.

“It was wonderful; the audience was thrilled to have us back inside,” said Muncaster, who has a blended family of five adult children and a handful of grandchildren with Marcia.

While Morgan said she’s looking forward to this weekend’s holiday concert, there is a portion of the performance that she’s anticipating the most.

“We always do a salute to veterans at every concert and it always gives me chills to look out and see them stand up in the audience,” she said.