A Legend Lives On: The Glenn Miller Orchestra Returns

Combining a tradition of rich music with an evening of wonderment, the Broken Arrow Arts and Humanities Council gives its final presentation of the Encore Series.  It plans on bringing the world-famous Glenn Miller Orchestra back to town on Thursday, April 19, at 7:30 p.m.  The performance will be held at the PACE Auditorium on the Tulsa Community College campus located at 81st Street and Highway 169.

Glenn Miller, the legendary bandleader and composer, was one of the most successful musicians of the 1930’s and 1940’s swing era.  After his death in 1944, the Glenn Miller sound continued through the authorization of the Glenn Miller Orchestra in 1956.  His legend has since lived on through many personifications of the famous players.

“We are thrilled to close the Encore Series with the Glenn Miller Orchestra,” says Jo Ellen Clow, Encore Series chairman.  “Audiences loved it two years ago and asked for it to come back.”

Larry O’Brien, who first headed up the ensemble in 1981 and rejoined the group in 1988, leads the 19-member band. The trombonist had been involved with the band since the early 1960’s when it was under the leadership of Ray McKinley, who served with the original Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band in Europe.  “Mostly we play the old songs,” says O’Brien. “We are careful to pick out standards with the idea of having something that will stay around for a while.”

Tickets for the show are only $10 and can be purchased at Arrow Flowers in downtown Broken Arrow or at any of Arkansas Valley State Bank’s three locations.  Tickets will also be available at the door the night of the event.  “It is the goal of the BA Arts Council to make tickets affordable to all. The BA Arts Council continues to strive for arts programming that will address the needs of the Broken Arrow community through their many programs,” says Clow.

Sponsors for the event include Oklahoma Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, Arkansas Valley State Bank, Windstream Communications, Public Service Company of Oklahoma and MidFirst Bank. For more information about the Glenn Miller Orchestra or the BA Arts and Humanities Council, please call (918) 259-4300, extension 244, or visit online at www.artsba.org.