North Platte Community College jazz band to perform with Glenn Miller Orchestra

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (KNOP) - North Platte Community College’s jazz band has been invited to open for and play with the Glenn Miller Orchestra next month.

The performance will begin at 4 p.m. Oct. 8 at The Golden Husk, the historic theater located in downtown Ord, according to a press release from Mid-Plains Community College.

“We are thrilled that the Jazzy Knights are providing preshow entertainment,” said Jennifer Winder, adjunct music instructor. “Most of all, we are grateful for the opportunity to perform with the iconic Glenn Miller Orchestra - a chance of a lifetime for any musician. This is sure to be an unforgettable performance for our Mid-Plains students.”

With its unique jazz sound, the Glenn Miller Orchestra is considered to be one of the most popular and sought-after big band in the world for both concert and swing dance engagements. The present Glenn Miller Orchestra was formed in 1956 and has been touring around the globe ever since.

The fact that NPCC students will be part of the Ord performance brings the orchestra full circle, as founder Glenn Miller got his musical start while in elementary school in North Platte in the early 1900s. After his father brought home a mandolin one day, Miller promptly traded it for an old, battered horn, which he practiced every chance he got. The instrument would lead to a lifetime obsession with music for Miller, who would come to be known as the father of modern U.S. military bands.

His orchestra’s best-selling records include Miller’s theme song, “Moonlight Serenade,” and the first gold record ever made, “Chattanooga Choo Choo.” In 1954, Miller was the subject of a partly fictionalized film biography, “The Glenn Miller Story,” starring James Stewart. Miller posthumously received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003.

During the concert in Ord, orchestra director Eric Stabnau and the 18-member ensemble will play many favorite original Miller arrangements as well as more modern selections performed in the Miller style and sound. Along with the orchestra, vocalist Jenny Swoish, will perform individually and as part of The Moonlight Serenaders® vocal group.

Tickets are available at The Golden Husk by calling (308) 730-8133, through the Ord Area Chamber of Commerce at (308) 728-7875, and online at goldenhuskarts.org. Admission is $25 for adults, $12 for students 18 and younger, and $75 for a family pass.

The event is possible thanks to the support of the Nebraska Arts Council and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.