Jazzing up Sidney

The Glenn Miller Orchestra – the band that has been on a continuous musical journey since 1956 – will perform in the Sidney High School Auditorium on Monday at 7 p.m

The legendary Glenn Miller was one of the most successful big band leader during the swing era of the 1930s and '40s, getting his musical start in North Platte, Neb.

By the 1940s, Miller and his orchestra, which was formed in 1938, had its own hour-long weekly radio program that influenced a new generation of musicians with his unique big band jazz and swing sound.

Although original band leader Miller disappeared in 1944 boarding a plane to Paris for a six-week tour of Europe, his music lives on and continues to carry his legacy. After a film about his life in 1956, a new Glenn Miller Orchestra formed in response to his popularity.

Today, the Glenn Miller Orchestra consists of lead female vocalist Natalie Angst as well as five saxophone players, four trumpeters, four trombonists and three rhythm musicians who play piano, bass and drums. The band is lead by musical director Nick Hilscher, who is also the lead male vocalist.

"I fell in love with the Glenn Miller Orchestra at the really young age of 11," Hilscher said.

In 1998, Nick became the featured male vocalist with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, and after earning his degree in 2000, he returned to singing with the band until 2005.

"I started leading the band in January of 2012 and that was a real accomplishment."

Since directing the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Hilscher says one of his most rewarding accomplishments with the band has been making two studio recordings that showcases the band's sound. Hilscher said it has been 10 years or more since the last time the Glenn Miller Orchestra recorded anything.

The current Glenn Miller Orchestra has been consistently touring since 1956, playing an average of 300 live dates a year all around the world. The band is still famous for playing Glenn Miller hits such as "Moonlight Serenade," Chattanooga Choo Choo" and "String of Pearls."

"There have been people who played in the group for 20 years and 17 years," Hilscher said. "The tour is continuous, so as time goes on new people will join the band."

The band plays four to five shows a week touring on the road for 11 months out of the year. Touring has taken the band to all 50 states, Canada, Mexico, Europe, South America and Japan.

"Just last year we performed our 50th anniversary of touring in Japan," Hilscher said.

Glenn Miller himself once said, "A band ought to have a sound all of its own. It ought to have a personality." And for the The Glenn Miller Orchestra that remains true as it is the most popular and sought after big bands of all time because of its unique jazz sound and traditional swing influences.

The event is hosted by the High Plains Art Council.