Get your big band groove on: Glenn Miller Orchestra to bring swing music to Columbus

The Glenn Miller Orchestra was founded some 84 years ago — and its namesake, legendary trombonist and bandleader Glenn Miller, disappeared in the air over the English Channel nearly 78 years ago — but its current leader is just 30 years old.

Music Director Erik Stabnau may not have been alive during most of the orchestra’s existence, but his appreciation of the group — and the music it makes — runs deep. He joined the big band in 2017 as a tenor saxophonist and became its leader during the pandemic.

Next Wednesday, the Rochester, New York, native will lead the 17-member ensemble when it brings its inimitable swing sound to the Palace Theatre.

In a recent phone interview with The Dispatch, Stabnau spoke about how he came to join the orchestra, the signature Glenn Miller sound and his observations on how audiences dress to get into an appropriately 1940s-era mood.

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Question: The Glenn Miller Orchestra is an ensemble with a storied history and a namesake born over a century ago. What led you to join the group?

Stabnau: I’ve always enjoyed big band music and jazz music in general. I played saxophone in middle school and high school, and really enjoyed that genre, that period in music. I went on to study in college as well, at the University of Rochester (in New York), so it was always a big interest of mine.

Of course, I had known that the Glenn Miller Orchestra was still touring, but I didn’t see myself playing with the group until after I had graduated. I had a good friend who was playing with the band at the time, and he told me about a position that was opening for tenor saxophone. Sure enough, I auditioned, and a few weeks later, I was on the road with the band.

Q: Has the Glenn Miller Orchestra performed continuously since Miller’s death?

Stabnau: We technically say that this group officially was restarted in 1956. However, after Glenn’s disappearance in ’44, there was a period of time between his disappearance and the technical reformation in 1956 that the Glenn Miller Orchestra did exist for periods, led by different folks who were associated with Glenn.

Q: Musical tastes have changed since Glenn Miller’s time. How do you hang onto and grow your fan base?

Stabnau: There have been a lot of different eras of music that we’ve passed through. If you listen to the Glenn Miller Orchestra over time, decade by decade, there is a slightly different sound. The band from the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, 2000s, it all sounds a bit different. But I think the goal for the band has always been to play as authentically as possible to the way the original band sounded. People come to the concerts and they expect to hear what they hear on the recordings, and I think, for the most part, we do a great job of recreating that, of reproducing that.

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Q: How would you characterize the Miller sound?

Stabnau: Specifically, what is recognizable about Glenn Miller’s band and his sound was the sound of the reed section. He pioneered a very specific sound, where there’s four saxophones led by a clarinet on top — five reeds together — and you hear that sound all throughout his music, especially in ballads. The best example would be “Moonlight Serenade.” That’s your classic Glenn Miller sound right there.

Speaking more generally, for folks who are coming to one of our performances, they can expect to hear quite a bit of variety. Of course, Glenn had a lot of big instrumental hits that everyone knows — “Moonlight Serenade,” “In the Mood,” things like that — but there are also a lot of great vocal numbers.

Q: Does it feel like you’re traveling back in time when you’re performing? 

Stabnau: It really does. A lot of folks come to our shows dressed in either formal or even period attire. It definitely does feel like stepping back in time, there’s no question.

Q: Recordings of Glenn Miller’s band exist. Why is it important that the orchestra stays on the road performing his music live?

Stabnau: There’s really nothing like seeing the live performance of this band. There’s a lot of variety music, but also, it’s a stage show, and there’s choreography and storytelling and all sorts of things like that. . . . For folks who maybe are not as familiar with big band music or with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, I think if you come to a live show, you won’t be disappointed.

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At a glance

The Glenn Miller Orchestra will perform at 7 p.m. Aug. 10 at the Palace Theatre, 34 W. Broad St. Tickets cost $63 to $85. For more information, visit www.capa.com.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Glenn Miller Orchestra to perform Aug. 10 at the Palace Theatre