Theatre of Western Springs Presents Glenn Miller Orchestra

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL — The Theatre of Western Springs will present the world-famous Glenn Miller Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 19, at the Theatre of Western Springs, 4384 Hampton Ave. The theatre said the evening is part of the TWS Performance Series which raises funds for the theatre, and all fans of Glenn Miller are invited.

“We are excited to bring this acclaimed orchestra to TWS,” Ann Marie Hultgren, chair of the Performance Series said in a release. “The orchestra’s sound brings back the joys of a bygone era that we are fortunate to offer our audience.”

According to the theatre, the legendary Glenn Miller was one of the most successful of all dance bandleaders back in the Swing Era of the 1930s and 40s. The present Glenn Miller Orchestra was formed in 1956 and has been touring consistently since, playing an average of 300 live dates a year all around the world.

Nick Hilscher has been music director since 2012. His experience with the orchestra dates to 1998 when he became the featured male vocalist. He worked with the orchestra for one year, taking a year off from college, and then returned to school to finish his music degree, according to the theatre.

“I’d been listening to Glenn Miller and his orchestra play the hits,” Hilscher said in a release. “Man, that
band could swing. No wonder it hit me like a ton of bricks, knocked me out, and changed my life when I was eleven years old. I’d never heard anything like that kind of music. It hit me at the deepest level a kid that age could be.”

Miller disbanded his musical organization in 1942 at the height of its popularity to volunteer for the Army, the theatre said. There, he organized and led the famous Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band. On Dec. 15, 1944, Major Miller took off in a single engine plane from Europe to precede his band to France, disappearing over the English Channel, never to be seen again.

Today, the 18-member ensemble continues to play many of the original Miller arrangements both from the civilian band and the AAFB libraries, the theatre said. In addition, it also plays some more modern selections arranged and performed in the Miller style and sound.

Tickets to the event are $40 for non-subscribers; $35 for TWS subscribers.

Photos provided by Theatre of Western Springs.