The Glenn Miller Orchestra

Don’t miss the Glenn Miller Orchestra swinging at SOPAC! Experience the live energy of the big band era upheld by an 18-piece ensemble of today’s leading soloists and arrangers. Performing hits like “Chattanooga Choo-Choo” and “Moonlight Serenade,” hidden gems like “The White Cliffs of Dover,” “Rainbow Rhapsody,” “Everybody Loves My Baby,” and “That’s Sabotage,” and many more Miller-style tunes, this high-octane outfit shares lush, engaging renditions of timeless music. Experience a hard-swinging performance that will keep you snapping and tapping through the evening. 

The Glenn Miller Orchestra

Led by Music Director Erik Stabnau, The Glenn Miller Orchestra comprises five saxophone players, four trumpeters, four trombonists, and a three-piece rhythm section. Additionally, two vocalists perform individually and as part of The Moonlight Serenaders® vocal group. The orchestra has performed in all 50 states, and across Europe, Australia, Iceland, New Zealand, Guam, the Philippines, and South and Central America. The orchestra has toured Japan annually since 1964. 

Glenn Miller and His Orchestra made a big impact right before and during the war. And it had more hit records in one year than anybody in the history of the recording industry. In fact, its recording of Chattanooga Choo-Choo earned the first Gold Record ever awarded to a performing artist. Additional Gold Record recordings include “In the Digital Mood” and “In The Christmas Mood,” Volume I & II. 

In the big band era, any dance band “worth its salt” had a distinctive theme song — a musical signature with which they signed on and signed off at their engagements and radio broadcasts. The theme of Glenn Miller and His Orchestra was “Moonlight Serenade,” which continues to be the signature tune of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Today, it is considered a standard in the field of popular music with its popularity as an instrumental continuing undiminished through the years. 

Erik Stabnau, Music Director 

Tenor saxophonist Erik Stabnau brings his lifelong enthusiasm for big band music to each performance of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Having grown up with a love for the music of the swing era, Stabnau naturally gravitated toward Glenn Miller, drawn to his recognizable melodies and the distinctive sound of his reed section.

A Western New York native, Stabnau learned to play the saxophone, flute, and clarinet in a variety of disciplines before developing an interest in the large ensembles of Ellington, Basie, Dorsey, Miller, and other big band architects. Excited to pursue a future in music, he attended the Eastman School of Music in his hometown of Rochester, earning a bachelor of music in Jazz and Contemporary Media. Intent on broadening his education, Stabnau went on to study music business and recording with a master of arts in Audio Arts from Syracuse University.

Prior to his time with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Stabnau performed and recorded as a band leader and side person throughout the Northeast, adding to his credentials experience as an educator, clinician, writer, and arranger. He was thrilled with the opportunity to join the orchestra in 2017 on tenor saxophone, playing the music and solos that Tex Beneke first made famous in the 1930s and ’40s. As a member of the band, Stabnau has performed across the United States and abroad in Canada and Japan and is honored to step in front of the orchestra as its music director. 

SOPAC Member Benefits

Member Discounts: Members at the Advocate Level or higher ($65+) will receive a discounted ticket price.

Accessibility & Accommodation

If you or a member of your party needs assistance, please notify SOPAC at the time your tickets are purchased. Contact the SOPAC Box Office at (973) 313-2787 or boxoffice@SOPACnow.org.