When swing and big band was the music du jour, Glenn Miller and his orchestra were at the top of the heap.
His music is still popular 80 years later.
“One of the reasons is how big the hits were at that time. If you take any decade of music, there are certain songs that rise to the top and make it into the lexicon of popular music that’s played. In the 1930s and ’40s, Glenn was, without a doubt, at times the most popular musician in the whole country, if not the whole world,” said Erik Stabnau, current music director of the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
“He had something like 69 (singles) that made it to the Top 10 on the charts. Sixteen of those made it to No. 1 on the charts. He had more top 10 hits than almost anyone else in history.”
The Glenn Miller Orchestra will perform at 7 p.m. June 3 at the Genesee Theatre in Waukegan.
Glenn Miller was a legendary musician and bandleader, but had a relatively short commercial career, leading his band from 1938-42. He then led a military band from 1942-44, Stabnau said. In 1944, the plane he was in disappeared in bad weather over the English Channel and he was never seen again.
Tenor saxophonist Stabnau has been a member of the orchestra since 2017. He took over as music director about six months ago.
He has a bachelor’s of music in Jazz and Contemporary Media from the Eastman School of Music in his hometown of Rochester, New York, and a master’s degree in Audio Arts from Syracuse University.
“It’s been a nice challenge, it’s been a lot of fun and I think the band sounds great,” he said. “It’s gone pretty smoothly, all things considered. I think at this point, we’re all just happy to be playing music again.”
As music director, he still gets to play tenor sax with the band, coming up front to introduce soloists or give background on the band or the music. He does a bit of conducting as well, he said.
“I’m kind of the host of the show, if you will,” he said. “Offstage, there are a variety of other responsibilities like choosing music or rehearsing the band or any number of those behind-the-scenes things.”
He’s had to learn a fair amount of history to lead the band, he said.
“There’s a lot of Glenn Miller history to know and a lot of Glenn Miller fans out there that know it as well. I try to keep up.”
Audiences will experience a two-hour performance with an intermission and will include all the big hits from the Glenn Miller Orchestra; including “Moonlight Serenade,” “Pennsylvania 6-5000,” “In the Mood” and “Chattanooga Choo Choo.”
“There’s some of his lesser-known songs as well. In addition to some extra music from the big band era that’s slightly outside of Glenn Miller’s library,” he said. “If you’ve seen the band before and you want to hear something a little bit new, we’re always rotating some of his lesser-known songs.
“There’s always going to be new material, new music that we’re going to perform. We also pay tribute to some of the other big bands of that time period and play a couple songs that are not Glenn Miller’s but popular music of that swing era that folks will recognize.”
Stabnau hopes Glenn Miller would appreciate the current iteration of his famous orchestra.
“I think the two goals of the band, for myself the musicians, are to pay tribute to Glenn’s music and we try to play this music as authentically as we can,” he said. “I think we do a pretty good job of that. Our other responsibility is to provide a show that’s entertaining for the audiences and I think we do that as well. I certainly hope he’d be pleased.”
Above all, he wants fans and non-fans alike to give the show a chance.
“For folks that know Glenn Miller and his music, you can expect to hear all the songs that you want to hear, all the big hits and you can get some history from the band as well,” said. “For folks who have not seen a performance like this or maybe you’re not familiar with the big band era and you’re thinking about going to the concert, I would say give it a shot and you won’t be disappointed.
“I think there’s something for everyone at these performances, there’s a lot of great instrumental music, there’s vocal music. I’ll be singing, there’s a gal that will be singing and we have a vocal group as well. There’s some fun choreography onstage. I personally think it’s a pretty fun show and anyone would enjoy it.”
Glenn Miller Orchestra
When: 7 p.m. June 3
Where: Genesee Theatre, 203 N. Genesee St., Waukegan
Tickets: $30-$40
Information: 847-263-6300; geneseetheatre.com
Annie Alleman is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.
