BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
When I first heard the Glenn Miller Orchestra was still touring 100,000 miles a year, my heart jolted: I had missed the brightest memo in the world.
The music of Glenn Miller is close to the hearts of thousands across the world — your humble writer included. I first discovered his music as a child; in fact, a Glenn Miller CD was one of the first albums I owned (thanks to my grandmother loyally sacrificing it from her own CD collection for me).
When I was in high school, like many others studying music, I was lucky to play some well-known works such as In the Mood and Tuxedo Junction with the stage band; with my friends.
But while I’ve been a faithful listener of Glenn Miller’s recordings, I didn’t know there was an orchestra that continued to perform his music for 81 years after he first started.
I also didn’t know it toured so heavily — to the effect of 300 gigs and half-a-million listeners every single year.
Nick Hilscher has a similar Glenn Miller love story to share — but from a very special place indeed: he is the music director of today’s Glenn Miller Orchestra, and sings with its vocal group, too.
Here, we introduce this very special talent. He talks about how far this music has come, and how much the world continues to embrace it.
Nick, you joined the Glenn Miller Orchestra in 2012 as music director (after your experiences singing with the band since 1998) — still fairly recently in its 81-year history! What drew you to this band and dedicating your career to keeping this music alive?
When I was 11 years old, I saw [1954 film] The Glenn Miller Story with Jimmy [James] Stewart portraying Glenn Miller. I was a young musician at the time, a pianist and singer, and this was my first exposure to Glenn Miller’s music. I immediately became a fan of Glenn’s band and started studying the music of that era. Although a pianist, I really began to focus on the singing style of the great vocalists of that period.
A number of years later, in 1997, I sent a vocal demo to the Glenn Miller Orchestra, and was soon working full time as the male vocalist with the band.
In those early years of working with the GMO, the majority of our audiences were of the ‘Greatest Generation’. It was such a privilege and pleasure to perform this music for that generation. I loved being a part of that, and the next thing I knew I had devoted my career to it.
And now, as time has moved forward, it’s a thrill to see how the music is speaking to younger generations! It gives me much happiness to present this music and see the way it brings joy to others.
So many people across the world have a soft spot in their heart for Glenn Miller (particularly if your orchestra’s half-a-million yearly listeners are anything to go by!). Where can we find Glenn Miller in your heart?
Glenn Miller was a very important cultural figure during the late ’30s and early ’40s. His music and the popularity of his civilian band, as well as his enormous contribution to the war effort with the Army Air Forces Orchestra, has held a very special place in the hearts of so many. It’s amazing that it affected me the way it did, nearly 45 years after Glenn had gone missing!
Probably the most emotional moment in my early years of listening to Miller’s band was hearing a recording of Glenn Miller’s last Chesterfield broadcast from September 24, 1942 in which it is announced, after the band plays Juke Box Saturday Night, that Glenn was joining the army. The band ends the show with a very slow version of Moonlight Serenade. When I heard that recording, knowing that Glenn never made it home from the war, it really affected me in a deep way.
Of course, at that point, I did not know that my professional career would be dedicated to singing with, and later leading, the Glenn Miller Orchestra. But I’ll always remember that moment and how it affected me.
The world hasn’t fallen out of love with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, even though the music you play is so incredibly well-known. Why has this band — your band — survived continuously into the 21st Century? Why do people still crave these songs? Is it nostalgia or something more?
I think it’s a combination of a lot of things. There is certainly an aspect of history and nostalgia to it. There’s the reality that Glenn’s band was the number-one band in the country and had an enormous amount of top 10 hits, as well as quite a few number-one selling records. These recordings are still being enjoyed throughout the world.
There’s also the fact that Glenn broke up his civilian band at the height of his popularity in order to serve a more direct purpose in the war effort, never to make it home again.
Then there’s the Jimmy Stewart movie The Glenn Miller Story that had an impact on me, introducing me to the music. Even today, many of our fans express to me how much they love The Glenn Miller Story, and how that movie is dear to them.
And then there’s the reality that the Glenn Miller Orchestra, after its reformation in 1956, has not stopped touring and presenting this wonderful music in a live setting all these decades.
I have a passion for it, and my desire is that this passion comes across in our performances. The musicians in the Glenn Miller Orchestra also share in that passion as far as presenting this music in the same exciting way as it was presented when it was brand new. This comes across to our fans, and they keep coming to see and hear the GMO perform this music.
It’s a wonderful thing that our fan base continues to grow all these years later!
There are many young musicians in the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Talk us through how the essence of Miller’s style is passed down through the generations. Listening to your recordings, the musical approach sounds — for lack of a more accurate word — authentic! Do you try to replicate old recordings, or have original members passed down their advice to the next generation, and the next? How is it communicated and how do you work to preserve it?
I actually very much appreciate hearing you say that our music sounds authentic!
My desire for our orchestra is not that we be an exact replica of Glenn Miller’s original band. However, we value the style of that original orchestra and work to preserve that sound.
There are a good number of things that have been passed down through the generations, from the style of vibrato used to the choreography performed onstage. And we also perform the original arrangements written for Glenn Miller’s original orchestra!
I do reference recordings when editing and rehearsing original arrangements. We have access to nearly 1000 arrangements that were written for Glenn Miller’s various orchestras, his two civilian bands as well as the AAF Orchestra, many of which have not been played since Glenn led the band.
Having a reference point from recordings is always helpful. Sometimes, though, we’ll perform an original arrangement that was never recorded. In these instances, the musicians know the style well enough, from other arrangements we play, that we’ll make our musical decisions based on our approach to those other arrangements.
So…tell us a secret about Glenn Miller.
This is a bit of a difficult question, as I think in regards to Glenn Miller, the man, what you see is actually what you get. Glenn did not seem to put on airs.
I think what I knew about Glenn Miller before getting involved in the Glenn Miller Orchestra has simply been confirmed as I’ve gotten older. Glenn was a very talented arranger, bandleader, and entertainer. He was also a great patriot who gave up what could have been continued success in his band’s career, with more big hit recordings, etc. He gave that up in order to be more directly involved in something that concerned him greatly. His desire to be a musical encouragement to American troops in the war was genuine.
I very much appreciate this about Glenn Miller, and am happy to be a part of something he started.
Your band tours 100,000 miles a year (that’s a whopping 160,900km for the metric reader) — almost every week of the year. It’s ridiculous, and glorious. Why is the live touring schedule so much a part of what the Glenn Miller Orchestra is about?
We do tour a lot! The GMO is on the road an average of 45 to 48 weeks every year, still performing about four or five shows per week that we’re on the road.
I think it’s very important that we continue to preserve this music by performing it live. It helps to keep us, and our music, fresh in the minds of our fans. And, just like most acts, listening to recordings of a performer is a wonderful thing, but hearing the music live is special.
Talk us through your live events. Is it a step back in time?
It’s interesting, we play so many dates throughout the year that our audiences are never exactly the same. Some dress up in period outfits. Some simply dress up. Oftentimes, it depends on the city and the venue.
Regardless, the GMO always comes in and performs with the same passion our big hits — Moonlight Serenade, In the Mood, Pennsylvania 6-5000, Tuxedo Junction, Little Brown Jug, A String of Pearls, American Patrol, Chattanooga Choo Choo — as well as some arrangements that may not be as well-known, and these change from night to night.
And yes, we include some of the classic moves and choreography that has been preserved all these decades.
As far as the music we play, we have a road book of about 225 arrangements, and I like to mix these up from town to town. This keeps the show fresh for the musicians, and also guarantees that our audiences are not always going to see the same exact show when they see the band multiple times.
We also feature throughout the show our female vocalist Hannah Truckenbrod, a very talented singer from Aurora, IL. And in the same vein as Glenn Miller’s vocal group The Four Modernaires, we present our vocal group The Moonlight Serenaders.
Our vocal group consists of Hannah and several guys from the band who also sing. Although I’m the music director of the orchestra, I still act as the male vocalist in the band and join our vocal group when they’re featured throughout the show.
How do you foresee the future of the Glenn Miller Orchestra? To be honest, I can’t see its popularity ever fading: this music is so of its time, but also so timelessly lovable.
This music really is timeless! It is my hope that the music continues to be performed by this remarkable orchestra and that future generations enjoy what we present.
I would imagine that when Glenn was leading his band, and they were recording and being broadcast over the airwaves, that perhaps no one in the orchestra was thinking the lasting impact this music would have on consecutive generations. And here we are, 81 years down the road from when Glenn started his band in 1938, still performing these arrangements and thrilling audiences.
If we continue the same, I see a bright future for this music and the Glenn Miller Orchestra!
What would you say has been the biggest impact of Glenn Miller on music today?
The first thing that comes to mind when hearing this question is Glenn Miller’s understanding of what his fans, what the public, wanted to hear.
I think Glenn was very aware of his fan-base, and was able to encourage his writers/arrangers to write in a style that spoke to the listening audience. Glenn had discovered particular musical ideas that he had created, and had seen how his audience latched onto those ideas. He was then able to explore new avenues while keeping his finger on the public.
It amazes me that these musical ideas still impact listeners several generations down the road! He had a gift for this, and most successful artists have that gift.
One more question for you, Nick — I acknowledge that it’ll be the toughest yet. What’s your favourite Glenn Miller song?
This is a difficult question, but I’d have to say my favorite song written for Glenn Miller’s orchestra is I Know Why (And So Do You), by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon. The tune is beautiful, as well as the lyrics.
Perhaps my reasoning may also be the impact of this song when I first heard the RCA Victor Bluebird recording of Glenn’s band with Paula Kelly and the Modernaires singing it. I think it’s a special recording, and I became pretty emotional when I first heard it in my early teen years.
I’ve never forgotten that moment, and we play the song often.
The Glenn Miller Orchestra will perform at The Town Hall this October 19 as part of its world tour — its first New York performance since 1998.
Over in Australia, these artists are set to share the love on October 27 in Hamer Hall, Melbourne.
Shout the writer a coffee?
If you like, you can say thanks to Steph for volunteering her time for arts journalism. No amount too much or little 🙂
Images supplied.
Pay what you like securely via PayPal.
