CONTRIBUTED / Glenn Miller was an enormously popular bandleader, composer, arranger, and trombonist in the 1930s and 1940s, the heyday of swing music. Miller and his band earned the first ever gold record for “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” which by 1941, had sold over 1.2 million copies, and the group earned dozens of top-10 hits in the late 1930s and early 1940s. 
PHOTO BY MICHAEL CAIRNS / The Glenn Miller Orchestra will perform at the Academy of Music on Wednesday, Aug. 20, at 7 p.m. Their setlist – which will be played without amplification – will include classics like “In The Mood,” “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” “Little Brown Jug,” “American Patrol,” and more. 
CONTRIBUTED / “I love this music,” said Glenn Miller Orchestra music director Erik Stabnau. “I genuinely like playing this music, and I like playing in a big band. That’s a rare opportunity nowadays.”
Big bands may have had their heyday decades ago, but their sound is enduring. One of the most renowned big bands, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, will bring their biggest hits to the Pioneer Valley later this month.
The Glenn Miller Orchestra will perform at the Academy of Music on Wednesday, Aug. 20, at 7 p.m. Their setlist – which will be played without amplification – will include classics like “In The Mood,” “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” “Little Brown Jug,” “American Patrol,” and more.
“It is a show that continues to transport audiences back in time,” a press release said, “and is as nostalgic as it is exciting.”
“I love this music,” said the orchestra’s music director, Erik Stabnau. “I genuinely like playing this music, and I like playing in a big band. That’s a rare opportunity nowadays.”
Glenn Miller was an enormously popular bandleader, composer, arranger, and trombonist in the 1930s and 1940s, the heyday of swing music. “A matchless string of hit records, the constant impact of radio broadcasts and the drawing power at theatres, hotels and dance pavilion, built and sustained the momentum of popularity,” said the press release. Miller and his band (then called Glenn Miller and His Orchestra) earned the first ever gold record for “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” which by 1941, had sold over 1.2 million copies, and the group earned dozens of top-10 hits in the late 1930s and early 1940s.
But in 1942, Miller disbanded the group and joined the Army, where he formed and led the Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band, eventually becoming Maj. Glenn Miller. In 1944, he took a plane ride over the English Channel – and he was never seen again. The Army officially declared him dead one year and one day later.
In 1954, Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson co-starred in a movie about Miller’s life, “The Glenn Miller Story.” The current version of the group formed as a result of popular demand created by the movie, and they’ve been touring continuously since 1956 – in fact, they perform more than 200 shows a year, traveling in a single tour bus (not including air travel for international shows, of course) and covering more than 100,000 miles.
Stabnau said a key part of what has given the orchestra its staying power after more than 80 years is a sense of nostalgia – Miller’s music was “the soundtrack of the 1940s and the World War II era. It’s not just popular music – it’s important music during a significant time in our country’s history.”
The group’s mission, then, is to recreate that as much as possible, so that audience members can “picture themselves back in the swing era.” (The Academy of Music seems like a good fit for that, too, he said – “a historic theater for a historic group.”) The orchestra generally plays the same music that the original Glenn Miller Orchestra did (“in most cases, note for note,” Stabnau said), though their setlists sometimes include more modern pieces like “I Sing the Body Electric” from the movie “Fame” and an arrangement of music from the “Star Wars” franchise.
Though this is a seated show – the Academy of Music, unlike other venues the orchestra performs at, isn’t equipped with a dance floor in the audience – it’s not uncommon for audience members to stand up in their seats to dance. (Plus, Stabnau said, “If people want to sneak off to dance, they’ll probably be able to.”)
In any case, he said, “It’s, I think, a very compelling show and a very interesting show. Whether you know the Glenn Miller Orchestra or not, I think fans of music will find something they like about this show.”
Tickets are $50 to $70, not including fees, at aomtheatre.com, by phone at 413-584-9032 ext. 105, or at the box office from 3 to 6 p.m., Tuesday to Friday. The show runs two hours with a 20-minute intermission. For more information, visit glennmillerorchestra.com.
Carolyn Brown can be reached at cbrown@gazettenet.com.
