By Natalie Forster, Features Assignment Editor
The Glenn Miller Orchestra is not a typical orchestra. They perform swing music instead of the typical classics, playing selections from 27 songs. Glenn Miller, a late big-band musician, composed many of the songs during his career, yet there were still some well-recognized hits from the past, such as “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.”
The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts welcomed the Glenn Miller Orchestra on Feb. 13. Selling out the Rigas Theater on Tuesday, Glenn Miller wowed an audience of both young and old.
The band itself has 18 members, but they were joined on stage with a group of four singers at various moments in the show. The singers call themselves the Moonlight Serenaders, consisting of one woman and three men.
Most of the attendees were elderly, but there were still plenty of students and staff who went to the event. Even young children ended up attending the show. The Glenn Miller Orchestra has a way of intriguing all audiences. Children get to listen to fun dance music, young adults and adults get to learn more about their family members’ lives and elderly get to reflect back on their own experiences with the orchestra’s style of music.
“Glenn Miller Orchestra recreates the sound and sights of the 40s and gives a history lesson on the life and times of Glenn Miller,” said Dan Nelligan, a sophomore computer science major. “Everything was crisp and played to perfection, almost feeling like you were transported back in time to the 40s.”
Around halfway through the performance, director Nick Hilscher, took a moment to dedicate a song to the veterans in the audience. Around half a dozen men were donning military hats, and people smiled at the gesture.
Not only was the music giving off 1940s vibes, but the whole show was straight out of that decade. Each person on stage was dressed in suits and ties, the formal wear of the forties. Each member also had been given a hat, in which they did small dance-like routines during songs. Even some audience members dressed up for the event.
“They moved around the stage a lot and had light choreography,” said Ashley Gallagher, a freshman journalism and mass communication major. “I think it was really cool and entertaining. I really liked how engaging they were.”
The set’s colors were also notable. Red, white and blue were the main colors, which makes sense considering the Glenn Miller Orchestra was founded during a strong stage of nationalism in American history.
Glenn Miller and his Orchestra began as a swing dance band in 1938. During the Swing Era of the 1930s and 40s, Miller became one of the most successful bandleaders, and he became wildly popular to the masses.
Based originally around one clarinet and four saxophones, Miller’s band has increased in size since the 40s. After developing his own sound, Miller officially formed his current orchestra in 1956. Constantly touring, the orchestra plays almost every day each year worldwide.
After a large crowd applause,
attendees gathered outside the theater to meet with members and buy CDs and merchandise from the orchestra. The audience got both a great show and memory.
