THE GLENN MILLER ORCHESTRA
YOU may not know the name but you are sure to have heard Glenn Miller’s music as most of Weymouth’s audience proved when they sang along to some of his most famous melodies.
Under the direction of leader Ray McVay, the big band sound of 16 musicians has been paying tribute to America’s wartime bandleader and composer for nearly 30 years and, thank goodness, the orchestra is still going from strength to strength and its demand continues to grow worldwide.
Arrangements of the Miller compositions took his band in the 1940s to the hit parade and generated millions of record sales. These well loved tunes are now reproduced by the orchestra with precision and enthusiasm as familiar melodies like A String of Pearls, Moonlight Serenade and Tuxedo Junction take the listener on a sentimental journey to the past.
The dance foursome The Jiving Lindy Hoppers bring an added bonus of recreating jazzy hip hop routines in a show that is full of energy and rich brass band sounds.
Miller’s unique arrangements of leading saxophones topped up with a solo clarinet are well represented by the orchestra which boasts some remarkable individual performers along with a vocal duo who bring their own undemanding style to the show.
And if at times Ray McVay’s Scottish accent is a little hard to interpret, the music says it all and that is what mattered to the Miller followers who crowded the Pavilion for this special event.
MARION COX
250 words
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