The World-Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra returns to the McAninch Arts Center (MAC) 3 p.m., Sunday, May 14. It is one of the most popular and sought after big bands in the world today for both concert and swing dance engagements with its repertoire of timeless swing classics, including “In the Mood,” “Chattanooga Choo-Choo,” “Pennsylvania 6-500" and “Moonlight Serenade.”
Glenn Miller and his orchestra made a big impact leading up to and during World War II. It had more hit records in one year than anybody in the history of the recording industry. In fact, its recording of “Chattanooga Choo-Choo” earned the first Gold Record ever awarded to a performing artist. Additional Gold Record recordings include “In the Digital Mood” and “In The Christmas Mood,” Volume I & II.
The World-Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra
Back in the days of the big band era of the forties, any dance band “worth its salt” had a distinctive theme song. It was the musical signature with which they signed on and signed off at their engagements and radio broadcasts. The theme of Glenn Miller and His Orchestra was the beautiful “Moonlight Serenade,” and it is still the signature tune of the Glenn Miller Orchestra today. Miller originally wrote the music of the song himself as an exercise for a course in arranging. He composed it long before he organized his band, when he was a trombonist and arranger with Ray Noble’s famous band. Today, it is considered a standard in the field of popular music with its popularity as an instrumental continuing undiminished through the years.
It is now more than 75 years since Glenn Miller first succeeded with the Orchestra, which still bears his name. Except for a few years following his disappearance, Glenn’s orchestra and music have been heard around the world continuously since 1938.
Tenor saxophonist Erik Stabnau is the current band director and Jenny Swoish, the vocalist. The 15 orchestra members hail from across the United States and include Chicago’s own and Northern Illinois University alum Kevin Sheehan on Alto Sax 1/Clarinet and Flute.
Tickets
The McAninch Arts Center, located at 425 Fawell Blvd., presents The World-Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra 3 p.m., Sunday, May 14. Tickets are $37-$42 For tickets or more information visit www.AtTheMAC.org or call 630.942.4000. The Box Office is open Tuesday-Saturday, noon – 6 p.m. and three hours prior to a performance.
About the MAC
McAninch Arts Center (MAC) at College of DuPage is located 25 miles west of Chicago near I-88 and I-355 at 425 Fawell Blvd. It houses three indoor performance spaces (the 780-seat proscenium Belushi Performance Hall; the 186-seat soft-thrust Playhouse Theatre; and the versatile black box Studio Theatre), an outdoor venue, the Lakeside Pavilion, plus the Cleve Carney Museum of Art and classrooms for the college’s academic programming. The MAC has presented theater, music, dance and visual art to more than 2 million people since its opening in 1986 and typically welcomes more than 100,000 patrons from the greater Chicago area to more than 230 performances each season.
The mission of the MAC is to foster enlightened educational and performance opportunities, which encourage artistic expression, establish a lasting relationship between people and art, and enrich the cultural vitality of the community. For more information about the MAC, visit www.AtTheMAC.org, @AtTheMAC on Facebook and Instagram.
Support for the McAninch Arts Center is provided in part by the DoubleTree by Hilton Lisle/Naperville; Follett, WDCB 90.9 FM, a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency and the College of DuPage Foundation.
Established as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charitable organization in 1967, the College of DuPage Foundation raises monetary and in-kind gifts to increase access to education and to enhance cultural opportunities for the surrounding community. For more information about the College of DuPage Foundation, visit www.foundation.cod.edu or call 630.942.2462.