After a few years on the road, LaMonaca settled in California and was able to bring his mother to the U.S. He led multiple groups until he was drafted for
World War I. After the war, LaMonaca performed everywhere from
Santa Barbara to
San Francisco and had recurring gigs at the
Greek Theater in
Berkeley. After touring with various ensembles, LaMonaca married settled down in
Rhode Island where his son, Caesar Vito was born. The family moved to Miami so Cesar could lead a band at the Roman Pools. They survived the Great Hurricane of 1926 in a small house in Ft Lauderdale. Shortly thereafter, he was director of the
Hollywood, Florida municipal band. Soon LaMonaca was working with the local
Boy Scouts and helped stand up their
drum and bugle corps (classic), as he did later in
Miami. In 1926, LaMonaca outbid the famed
Arthur Pryor for a series of waterfront concert gigs in Miami, but that season was interrupted by the Great
Miami Hurricane. LaMonaca's Hollywood band immediately began to play at area hospitals for victims of the hurricane. After Miami rebuilt the
Bayfront Park Amphitheater, in 1927, his band gave concerts there for the next 50 years. In 1929, he became director of the Harvey Seeds American Legion Post Drum and Bugle Corps. Under his musical direction Harvey Seeds won three national championships and a number of other accolades. In 1930, LaMonaca volunteered to conduct the 265th Coast Artillery Band of the
Florida National Guard, a military unit which was the predecessor of today's
13th Army Band, Florida National Guard. The band adopted LaMonaca's style of mixing classical music with marches and modern songs. The Coast Artillery later became the
265th Air Defense Artillery Regiment. This was the only Florida military band that survived the reorganization of the armed forces after
WWII. LaMonaca retired from the military in 1941, as the unit was federalized for active duty. The band served in
Texas and
Alaska. LaMonaca noted in an interview that the Army didn't pay enough to keep up his familial responsibilities. In 1931, he formed the Greater Miami Boys Drum and Bugle Corps, which he headed until 1955. That drum corps traveled the world and won several competitions, apart from the Harvey Seeds, Legion corps. At one point the depression-era WPA was used creatively to assist out-of-work musicians and as many as 14 teachers were paid to assist the drum corps, which swelled to over 360 members. LaMonaca is also cited as the creator of the West Palm Beach Municipal Band, which he led until 1930. He was not only a great conductor, but an educator. From 1946 to 1955, he organized and directed a youth symphony that performed twice weekly during the summer months at the Bayfront Park bandshell while his symphonic band was on hiatus. In 1954, LaMonaca honored the memory of bandleader
Glenn Miller by conducting Miller's music at his weekly concert when the bandleader's movie premiered in Miami. LaMonaca's legacy was not only that of a great entertainer, but someone who was a keystone of South Florida history. His concerts remain in the memory of many Miamians who didn't have television and went to
Bayfront Park on Friday and Saturday nights for his concerts. His students went on to both teach and perform. His students in the Greater Miami Boys Drum Corps included Wade Buff and Gene Adkinson, who later formed The Dreamers. His own son, Caesar V. LaMonaca, attended
Juilliard and played French Horn with the New Orleans and Houston Symphonies, before moving on to become a piano tuner.
Canadian Brass member Martin Hackleman was a student of his. During his final concert at Bayfront, the elder Lamonaca fell from the podium and broke his hip. He never conducted in public again. ==Sources==