(A Radio Iowa report) – The City of Clarinda will honor its most famous native son with the 51st annual Glenn Miller Festival, opening tomorrow (Thursday). Several renown big bands will perform, in addition to scholarship competitions, educational programs and new attractions. Shari Greenwood, executive director of the Glenn Miller Birthplace Society, says 20 of the top student musicians from near and far will be in town.
“From 8 to 4:30 will be the scholarship competition for the instrumental and vocal kids who have applied,” Greenwood says. “The prize pool this year has tripled. We’ve had tons and tons and tons of applicants and we’ve narrowed them down to ten vocalists and ten instrumentalists who will be coming to town and perform on Thursday.”
There will be a picnic and concert Thursday evening featuring the Glenn Miller Orchestra on the town square, and a host of other big bands playing at various Clarinda venues on Friday and Saturday, while the finale is Saturday night. “We wanted to do something a little bit different on Saturday night, so they proposed the idea of doing a battle of the bands with the Glenn Miller Orchestra and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra,” she says, “which is something that hasn’t been done here and we’re excited.”
This year’s festival theme is The Glenn Miller Story, with special presentations and question-and-answer sessions featuring members of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Lovers of big band music from around the world come to this festival, and there’s a long list of performers. Serenade Orchestra will be here. Another big one for us is always Adam Swanson, the kid from Shenandoah that’s made it big to the ragtime piano playing business.”
The festival will also feature several new attractions, including a display of traditional Japanese instruments and a World War Two aviation exhibit at the Clarinda Municipal Airport, along with two 1940s-era bombers that will be offering tours. The legendary bandleader was born in the Page County community in 1904.
