GARDEN GROVE : Big Band to Offer Music of the ‘40s

Music of the 1940s will be featured when the Society for Preservation of Big Bands performs Friday at the Garden Grove Community Center.

The 16-piece band will play the big-band sounds of Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey and Harry James at a dance party to relive the music of the past and to raise money for projects of the Garden Grove Rotary Club.

“We want to keep alive the music of our younger days,” said Bruce Rhinehart, 70, a retired optometrist who helped form the band in 1961. He plays the saxophone.

Rhinehart said that while the big-band sound began disappearing in the late 1950s, it has lately become increasingly popular again.

The Society for Preservation of Big Bands has performed more than 1,200 engagements since 1961, Rhinehart said, including birthday parties for musician Count Basie and composer Aaron Copeland.

Band members are mostly retirees, whose former professions include accountant, banker, music teacher, cement contractor, music store owner and restaurant manager, Rhinehart said.

Tickets for Friday’s party are $10 each and may be purchased at the door or from Garden Grove Rotarians. The party begins at 8 p.m. at the Community Center on 11300 Stanford Ave. Information: (714) 537-7080.