Glenn Miller Festival
Encyclopedia
The Twinwood Festival, incorporating the Glenn Miller Festival of Swing, Jazz and Jive! is an annual vintage music festival, held at Twinwood Arena in Clapham, Bedfordshire
.
Airfield in Clapham, Bedfordshire, England. On 27 August 1944, Glenn Miller
& his AAF band performed an outdoor concert at RAF Twinwood. The stage was a flatbed trailer, and the audience, which consisted of the R.A.F. personnel who worked at RAF Twinwood sat on the grass not far from the Twinwood Control Tower. Later on that year on December 15 1944, Glenn Miller boarded a Norseman aircraft, from RAF Twinwood and he was never seen or heard of again. The disappearance of Glenn Miller from RAF Twinwood Airfield sparked a mystery that has fascinated the world ever since.
After World War II
, R.A.F. Twinwood was decommissioned and the site lay almost untouched. In 1989 the company Twinwood Events was formed and work started on the restoration of the Twinwood Control Tower to convert it into the Glenn Miller Museum. In 2002 a celebration Glenn Miller concert was held to mark the completion of the restoration. The success of the Glenn Miller concert led to the birth of the annual Glenn Miller Festival, which was held over the August bank-holiday weekend, as the weekend often falls on or near the 27 August.
, and jive
bands and orchestras from the UK and Europe have performed at the festival, including The John Miller
Orchestra, The Glenn Miller Orchestra
, The Syd Lawrence Orchestra, Chris Smith and his String of Pearls Orchestra, The Jive Aces
, Blue Harlem, Bill Baker's Big Band Sticky Wicket and His Swing Band, The Kings Cross Hot Club, The RCA band, and the Mike Sanchez
band.
Festival organiser Alice Wooding has said:
In 2008 the Twinwood Festival had four stages, each with a large sprung wooden dance floor in front. In addition to the live bands that perform continuously throughout the three day festival, there are other events and attractions including Vintage Fashion shows, 40s hangar dances, jazz bars, a choice of late night dances and entertainment, a large traders village, a vintage hair and beauty salon, a therapy and relaxation suite, RAF displays, classic vehicles, museums, dance lessons and workshops, a large selection of food stalls and atmospheric bars, including the Officers Mess Bar, good camping and parking facilities.
Clapham, Bedfordshire
Clapham is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England. It has a population of 3,643.-Facilities:Clapham has numerous public houses and several small shops; including a post office, Chinese and Indian takeaways, fish and chips, a florist, a hairdresser and a small...
.
A Brief History
The Glenn Miller Festival is held at the former RAF Twinwood FarmRAF Twinwood Farm
-Other RAF Squadrons:*No. 26 Squadron RAF*No. 268 Squadron RAF*No. 613 Squadron RAF*No. 169 Squadron RAF*No. 239 Squadron RAFIn March 1943 P51 Mustangs belonging to 164, 169, 239 and 208 Squadrons RAF engaged in Operation Spartan which occurred between 1 and 12 March 1943 was conducted across...
Airfield in Clapham, Bedfordshire, England. On 27 August 1944, Glenn Miller
Glenn Miller
Alton Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician , arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
& his AAF band performed an outdoor concert at RAF Twinwood. The stage was a flatbed trailer, and the audience, which consisted of the R.A.F. personnel who worked at RAF Twinwood sat on the grass not far from the Twinwood Control Tower. Later on that year on December 15 1944, Glenn Miller boarded a Norseman aircraft, from RAF Twinwood and he was never seen or heard of again. The disappearance of Glenn Miller from RAF Twinwood Airfield sparked a mystery that has fascinated the world ever since.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, R.A.F. Twinwood was decommissioned and the site lay almost untouched. In 1989 the company Twinwood Events was formed and work started on the restoration of the Twinwood Control Tower to convert it into the Glenn Miller Museum. In 2002 a celebration Glenn Miller concert was held to mark the completion of the restoration. The success of the Glenn Miller concert led to the birth of the annual Glenn Miller Festival, which was held over the August bank-holiday weekend, as the weekend often falls on or near the 27 August.
The current festival
Since 2002 the Glenn Miller Festival had grown, and in 2007 the name was changed to "Twinwood Festival, incorporating the Glenn Miller Festival" in order that a slightly wider genre of music could be performed at the festival, and it is now one of the largest vintage music festivals in Europe. Many well known swing, jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, and jive
Swing (genre)
Swing music, also known as swing jazz or simply swing, is a form of jazz music that developed in the early 1930s and became a distinctive style by 1935 in the United States...
bands and orchestras from the UK and Europe have performed at the festival, including The John Miller
John Miller
-Politics:* John Miller , Governor of North Dakota, 1889–1891* John Miller , Governor of Missouri, 1826–1832; U.S. Representative from Missouri, 1837–1843...
Orchestra, The Glenn Miller Orchestra
Glenn Miller Orchestra
The Glenn Miller Orchestra was originally formed in 1938 by Glenn Miller. It was arranged around a clarinet and tenor saxophone playing melody, while three other saxophones played the harmony...
, The Syd Lawrence Orchestra, Chris Smith and his String of Pearls Orchestra, The Jive Aces
The Jive Aces
The Jive Aces, winners of BBC TV's Opportunity Knocks, formed in 1989. They are a six-piece UK based, high energy, jive and swing band, who have many albums and singles to their name, and have performed at many music festivals. They received an award from the Variety Club of Great Britain for their...
, Blue Harlem, Bill Baker's Big Band Sticky Wicket and His Swing Band, The Kings Cross Hot Club, The RCA band, and the Mike Sanchez
Mike Sanchez
Jesus Miguel "Mike" Sanchez is a rhythm and blues singer, pianist and songwriter of Spanish-English heritage. Sanchez is known for his work with the Big Town Playboys and Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings, and also for his solo career...
band.
Festival organiser Alice Wooding has said:
"We strive to provide a quality event, quality facilities and quality music, which is the reason for the success of the Twinwood Festival and its rapid growth."
In 2008 the Twinwood Festival had four stages, each with a large sprung wooden dance floor in front. In addition to the live bands that perform continuously throughout the three day festival, there are other events and attractions including Vintage Fashion shows, 40s hangar dances, jazz bars, a choice of late night dances and entertainment, a large traders village, a vintage hair and beauty salon, a therapy and relaxation suite, RAF displays, classic vehicles, museums, dance lessons and workshops, a large selection of food stalls and atmospheric bars, including the Officers Mess Bar, good camping and parking facilities.