The World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra Headlines our 11th Festival

The 11th Annual Brantford International Jazz Festival is excited to present the World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra as headliners for this years Festival.

Performing Saturday, September 15, 2018 at the Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts the World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra, under the direction of Nick Hilscher performs selections from the original Glenn Miller Orchestra library.

Join us for an exciting night of jazz on September 15, 2018.

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GLENN MILLER SOUND STILL TOPS

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

On December 15, 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, over sixty 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, an 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.

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Nick Hilscher
Music Director & Vocalist

Nick Hilscher is a first rate singer of the American Songbook. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, he began his professional career in his teens, playing piano and singing in the Atlanta area. His early musical influences were Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Frank Sinatra, Glenn Miller, and Tommy Dorsey. A piano student of Atlanta’s Harris Wheeler, Nick was encouraged to pursue music professionally. Nick continued his studies in college under the tutelage of Donald Sanders at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. During this time he was awarded runner up in the 1997 Alabama Collegiate Artists Piano Competition. He graduated from Samford University in the spring of 2000 with a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance.

In 1998, Nick became the featured male vocalist with the Glenn Miller Orchestra. He worked with the Glenn Miller Orchestra for one year, taking a year off from college, and then returned to school to finish his degree. After earning his degree in 2000, Nick returned to his singing post with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, performing an average of 300 shows a year in venues like the Hollywood Bowl and New York City’s Birdland. His touring has taken him to all fifty United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, South America, and Japan.

During this period, Nick had the pleasure of working with trombone great and musical director for the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Larry O’Brien. Nick is featured on several albums with the Glenn Miller Orchestra: On The Air (2002) and Steppin’ Out (2005).

In 2002, Nick recorded his first solo album entitled Nick Hilscher Sings with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, produced by Charlie Bertini of Orlando, FL (www.applejazz.com), and engineered by Freddie Breitberg of Chicago, IL. This recording features original big band arrangements written by Raleigh Dailey, Paul Ferguson, Mike Kamuf, Tony Migliore, Jeffrey Steinberg, and Dave Wolpe.

Nick worked with the Glenn Miller Orchestra until February 2005. Since that time, he has been performing solo acts as well as small tours as a featured artist with various bands. In 2005, Nick was the featured vocalist for a 100th birthday celebration of Tommy Dorsey with the Julliard Jazz Orchestra, under the direction of Victor Goines. During the same year he was the featured vocalist with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra on a cruise celebrating Tommy Dorsey’s 100th birthday, and continued in that role working closely with the legendary Buddy Morrow. Buddy, who directed the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra from 1977-2010, served as a great encouragement and mentor to Nick, bringing out the best in Nick’s performances and musicianship. Nick was chosen to carry on as director of the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra after Buddy’s passing.

In April 2010, Nick released his newest solo album with big band, Young and Foolish. The album features the music of Hank Williams, Sr., Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Roger Miller, Nat “King” Cole, and Cole Porter. All of the music on this recording is arranged and orchestrated by Nick.

Nick’s first performance as music director of the Glenn Miller Orchestra was on January 12, 2012.

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Larry O’Brien, former music director of the Glenn Miller Orchestra, says, “(Nick) brings so much authenticity to the role of romantic balladeer and is a pleasure, both personally and professionally.”

Former lead trombonist with Glenn Miller from 1939-’42, Paul Tanner, has remarked, “It is rare today to find a young man who sounds so great.”

How Nick feels about the Glenn Miller Orchestra:

“Been listening to Glenn Miller and His Orchestra play the hits. 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! I’d never heard anything like that kind of music. It hit me at the deepest level a kid at that age could be hit.”