Courtesy of Chandler Center for the Arts
Glen Miller Orchestra
Saturday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m. — RANDOLPH — On Saturday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 .m., the Glenn Miller Orchestra performs at the Chandler Music Hall in Randolph.
The Glenn Miller Orchestra is the most popular and sought after big band in the world today for both concert and swing dance engagements. With its unique jazz sound, the Glenn Miller Orchestra is considered to be one of the greatest bands of all time.
Formed in March 1938, one of the first iterations of the Glenn Miller Orchestra — which would later include the likes of Tex Beneke, Marion Hutton, Ray Eberle, Paul Tanner, Johnny Best, Hal McIntyre, and Al Klinck — soon began breaking attendance records all up and down the East Coast. At the New York State Fair in Syracuse it attracted the largest dancing crowd in the city’s history. The next night it topped Guy Lombardo’s all-time record at the Hershey Park Ballroom in Pennsylvania. The Orchestra was invited by ASCAP to perform at Carnegie Hall with three of the greatest bands ever — Paul Whiteman, Fred Waring and Benny Goodman — and created more of a stir than any of them.
Glenn Miller was one of the most successful bandleaders of the Swing Era of the 1930s and 40s. On Oct. 7, 1942, Alton Glenn Miller reported for induction into the Army and was immediately assigned to the Army Specialist Corps. His appointment as a captain came after many months of convincing the military higher-ups that he could modernize the army band and ultimately improve the morale of the men. His training complete, he was transferred into the Army Air Corps, where he ultimately organized the Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band. Miller’s goal of entertaining the fighting troops took another year to be realized, but in late 1943 he and the band were shipped out to England.
In the fall of 1944, the band was scheduled to be sent on a six-week tour of Europe and would be stationed in Paris during that time. Miller decided to go ahead, in order to make the proper arrangements for the group’s arrival. And so, on Dec. 15, Glenn Miller boarded a transport plane to Paris, never to be seen again.
The legend lives on — his music remains vibrant, and has been performed since 1954 by the official Glenn Miller Orchestra. The 18-member group plays Miller’s trademark songs, using his original arrangements, as well as newer music arranged and played in the Miller style. The result is an evening of Swing magic!
Tickets for the concert are $25 for adults and $5 for students, available online at www.chandler-arts.org or by calling the box office at 802-728-6464 weekdays between the hours of 3 and 6 p.m.
Chandler Center for the Arts is located at 71-73 Main Street, Randolph. Chandler Music Hall is fully accessible and equipped for the hearing impaired.
