Glenn Miller Orchestra Program

The World Famous

Glenn miller Orchestra Today’s program will be announced from the stage.

THE GLENN MILLER ORCHESTRA Larry O’Brien, musical director (trombone) Vocalists: Julia Rich Brian Hemstock Saxophones: Kevin Sheehan – lead alto Gary Meggs – second alto Scott Van Domelen – tenor sax I Damian Sanchez – tenor sax II Ian O’Beirne – baritone sax

Trumpets: Ashley Hall – lead Nick Ciardelli Jeff Uban Gary Lamb

Piano: Ron Mills

Trombones: George Reinert III – lead Jamie Parker Dan Gabel Jason Bennett – bass

Bass: Bart Delaney

Drums: Felix Manzi

This performance will include one 20-minute intermission.

Owner and operator: Glenn Miller Productions, Inc.

801 International Parkway, 5th Floor Lake Mary, FL 32746

Telephone: 407-562-1924 Fax: 407-562-2001

www.glennmillerorchestra.com

Glenn miller orchestra® Glenn Miller disappeared on Dec. 15, 1944. The bandleader went down over the English Channel on a flight from London to Paris at the height of his popularity. In September 1942, just prior to going into the army, he had disbanded his famous orchestra and eventually formed the Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band to entertain the servicemen.

Not long before he enlisted, he nosed-out Tommy Dorsey, the “Best Sweet Band” in the Downbeat poll.

His recordings of In The Mood, Chattanooga Choo Choo, A String of Pearls,

Glenn Miller Orchestra

Moonlight Serenade and Tuxedo Junction were all major hit records. Miller played to sell out crowds, and his music constantly dominated the airwaves.

The night he disappeared, Major Miller took off in an ancient, single engine plane to precede his band to Paris. The weather was foreboding. Not very confident, he said to the pilot, “maybe we ought to call this off?” The flight officer ribbed him about his fear of flying, “do you want to live forever?”

Now, more than 60 years since the public first embraced the successful Miller sound, both the legend and the music live

on. The Glenn Miller Orchestra is the most sought after big band in the world today for both concert and dance engagements.

Still considered the greatest band of all time, its unique sound is loved by almost anybody that cares for dance music.

The Miller Estate formed the present Glenn Miller Orchestra in 1956 following strong popular demand aroused as a result of the successful motion picture and immense box office smash - The Glenn Miller Story, starring James Stewart and June Allyson. The band has been touring consistently since, playing an average of 300 live dates a year around the globe to millions of fans.

LARRY O’BRIEN, musical director Larry O’Brien became the leader of the Glenn Miller Orchestra for the second time in 1988. His first stint was from 1981 to 1983.

O’Brien was playing trombone in the Dunes Hotel “Casino de Paris” orchestra when Glenn Miller Productions, Inc. first asked him to front the band. “It was a great surprise to even be considered for such a job and was definitely a step up for me,” Larry admits. “I was flattered and apprehensive, too. I was following some very fine leaders, and I hoped I could uphold the fine Miller tradition.”

O’Brien has a direct link to the Glenn Miller sense of performance. He first played with the Miller band in the early 1960s, when Ray McKinley was the leader. McKinley had served in Europe with Glenn Miller’s Army Air Force band and then acted as its unofficial leader after Miller’s disappearance in 1944.

O’Brien has played with big bands for most of his career, including the orchestras of Sammy Kaye, Buddy Morrow, Ralph Marterie, Ray Eberle,

Billy May, Les Elgart, Boyd Raeburn, Art Mooney and Lee Castle.

In 1962, Larry was the featured soloist/lead trombonist with the Sam Donahue/Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and performed Dorsey solos. He also spent several years as the group leader backing Frank Sinatra, Jr., in live appearances, recordings and television shows. The group toured the world for almost three years and appeared numerous times on The Merv Griffin Show, The Tonight Show and The Mike Douglas Show. The association with Frank, Jr., continued in various formats for 16 years.

In 1979, O’Brien settled in Las Vegas, Nev. where he played with the Al Ramsey Orchestra at Caesar’s Palace, performing with stars like Tom Jones and Frank Sinatra. He also worked with Sergio Franchi, Wayne Newton, Roy Clark and other noted performers.

In June 1981, O’Brien accepted his first assignment as leader with the Glenn Miller Orchestra. He toured with the ensemble through September 1983 and then returned to Las Vegas to fulfill commitments to the Al Ramsey Orchestra at the Golden Nugget Hotel and the Russ Gary Big Band Express.

O’Brien recorded two albums with the Big Band Express—Have Horns Will Travel and A Time to Remember, which featured fellow trombonist, Carl Fontana.

When not working in Las Vegas, O’Brien toured with Pia Zadora across the United States and Korea. He performed on her record, Pia Today, which featured the Sammy Nestico Orchestra. Larry also reunited with his friend, Frank Sinatra, Jr., and with trumpeter Buddy Childers.

O’Brien was born in Jamaica, N.Y. on July 15, 1933. His father Vincent preferred classical music, but both Larry and his

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mother Leonore liked the big band sound.

“Tommy Dorsey was my primary motivation force. He was the enfant terrible, the bad one who put everybody away. I started on trombone when I was 13, and soon after, Dorsey became popular. I remember picking up Marie and Hawaiian War Chant and stuff like that. From then on, he was an idol of mine.”

O’Brien’s musical training really began at John Adams High School in Jamaica, N.Y., with trombone lessons by the band director. He also studied privately with trombonist Ed Kolyer who played in Broadway shows. A year later, O’Brien, who was only 15, was first trombonist with the New York City All-City High School Symphony Orchestra and, at age 16, won the New York Philharmonic Orchestra Trombone Scholarship.

O’Brien was in the service from 1952 to 1955. He attended the Naval School of Music in Washington, D.C. and was assigned to the 328th Army Band. When O’Brien got out of uniform, he went to New York University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in education with a major in music.

While attending college, O’Brien joined the Sammy Kaye Orchestra, a regular band at the Roosevelt Grill. He also toured and recorded with the orchestra and was the featured soloist on The Sammy Kaye Show.

“I’m only somewhat amazed about the Miller mystique.” O’Brien stated. “It’s many-faceted. There are many reasons for its continuing popularity. For one thing, Glenn gave up a lucrative band when he was at his zenith to join the service – when he didn’t have to. He was immensely popular when he entered the service. The band sold more records in a year than, I think, Elvis or the Beatles

Glenn Miller Orchestra

ever did in a year. Then he went on to form a monster band, play all over Europe for the GIs, help sell a lot of war bonds, improve morale, and generally contribute greatly to the war effort. Finally, he disappeared mysteriously in a plane that took off from England for France in 1944. No trace of the plane had ever been found.

So I think it’s a combination of all these factors and the great Miller sound itself that keeps his music and his name alive.”

O’Brien has his own ideas about how to keep the Miller style and sound fresh. “I’m a traditionalist, but we’re not nit-picking Miller. We’ve instituted some changes we think Glenn probably would have instituted himself were he still here, such as retaining the voicing of Danny Boy as a brass chorale, but replacing the trumpets with fluegelhorns and having the trombones play in hat.”

There’s more. One critic wrote: “A sense of swing feeling…seems to have returned with Larry O’Brien’s assumption of the leadership of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. [O’Brien] has steered his orchestra in the direction the Miller music followers demand – the band’s basic foundation – the Glenn Miller Music.”

O’Brien underscores his dedication to maintaining the Miller aura: “Some of the more modern part of our repertoire we play in the big band style. Some we don’t. What we’re trying to do is run this band the way we feel Glenn would have if he were still here.”

That the Miller sound still lives on is no surprise to O’Brien. “It seems that good things just don’t ever die. Rather, they age gracefully and mellow with the years. If anything, I honestly think the authentic Glenn Miller music today is more popular with more people than ever before.”

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