NORWICH – The Chenango Blues Association’s Free Summer Concert Series will be in full-swing - literally, this time around - with the Glenn Miller Orchestra taking the stage at 7 p.m. Thursday in East Park.

“A band ought to have a sound all of it’s own. It ought to have a personality,” said American big band leader, arranger, composer and trombonist Glenn Miller, who formed the world famous Glenn Miller Orchestra in 1956. The band - and it’s personality - has been touring consistently since.

The Glenn Miller Orchestra has been hailed as the most popular and sought after big band in the world today for both concert and swing dance engagements, and Thursday’s show in Norwich will be the ensemble’s second show in town. The group plays an average of 300 live performances per year all across the globe.

In 1939, the orchestra performed at the Glen Island Casino, a major swing venue in NY, and was heard on the radio for the first time. The group’s success grew throughout World War II and Miller himself has been deemed by some as the premier musical symbol of the WWII generation. Live appearances at ballrooms broke attendance records regularly. That same year, Miller and the orchestra were offered a thrice-weekly radio show.