Time to get “In the Mood” for the 2023 version of OFAM at The Shedd

Edited by Randi Bjornstad

The 2023 version of the Oregon Festival of American Music, popularly known as OFAM, makes its debut at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 2, with a concert called In the Mood. The show features Chuck Redd and his Festival Big Band, plus vocalists Shirley Andress, Lynnea Barry, and Bill Hulings. Together, they’ll perform some of the best Big Band Swing from the World War II era, emphasizing the music of Glenn Miller and Artie Shaw.

The full program of events, titled If Only In My Dreams — America at War, 1939-45, runs Aug. 2 through 12 and is the 32nd year of OFAM at The Shedd Institute. It  includes a wide array of activities, including concerts, films, and talks, plus a community sing-along and a Sunday Jazz Party. Each major concert is offered twice, once in the evening and also as a matinee.

All events take place at The Shedd Institute at 868 High St.

Here’s how The Shedd describes the background of this year’s OFAM festival:

By the end of World War II the Age of Big Band Swing was effectively over. There are many theories as to why this happened. World War II itself, with its ever-increasing call for young men and women to join the armed forces and its equally exacting toll on the U. S. economy in general with various government imposed restrictions and various taxes was one point of pressure on big bands. The American Federation of Musicians (AFRS) boycott strikes against record companies and radio stations was another. And finally there were the internal cultural pressures on big band swing itself as many of the best sidemen and bandleaders tired of playing for audiences who, according to Artie Shaw, “just wanted to hear dance music” and turned to their own inclinations towards jazz.

Whatever the reasons (and they were indeed complex), by the mid-1940s the big bands were effectively gone. Yet during the years of World War II many of the elements of Big Band Swing remained, with persisting vitality, much of which “lived” in the ongoing effort of the AFRS to boost morale and the general sentiment among many musicians and band leaders to do their part in the war effort. Two standouts were Glenn Miller and Artie Shaw. In 1942 Glenn Miller disbanded his civilian big band, joined the Army Air Forces and led the AAF orchestra until his death over the English Channel in December 1944. Artie Shaw joined the Navy soon after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and led a morale-raising Navy band in the Pacific through 1943.

OFAM 2023 day-by-day schedule

Wednesday, Aug. 2

• 9:30 a.m. film — Star Spangled Rhythm, 1942; Sheffer Hall; host Howard Schuman; free
• 1:30 p.m. Community Sing-Along — leader Army-Navy Hit Kit Adams; Sheffer Hall; free
• 5 p.m. talk — Intro to OFAM 2023; Sheffer Hall; host Jim Ralph; free
• 7:30 p.m. concert — In the Mood, (also broadcast live on KLCC-FM 89.7); performed again at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 12; Jaqua Concert Hall

Thursday, Aug. 3

• 9:30 a.m. film — The Road to Morocco (1942); Sheffer Hall; host Howard Schuman; free
• 1:30 p.m. concert — We’ll Meet Again; Jaqua Concert Hall; Chuck Redd, director; repeated at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 11
• 5 p.m. talk —The OFAM 2023 Film Series; host Howard Schuman; Sheffer Hall; free
• 7:30 p.m. concert — A Long, Long Time; Shirley Andress, director; Jaqua Concert Hall; repeated at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 12

Friday, Aug. 4

• 9:30 a.m. film — The Sky’s The Limit (1943); host Howard Schuman; Sheffer Hall; free
• 1:30 p.m. concert — BOUM!; Siri Vik, director; Jaqua Concert Hall; repeated at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 10
• 5 p.m. talk — V-Discs; host Jim Ralph; Sheffer Hall; free
• 7:30 p.m. concert — You’ll Never Know; Chuck Redd, director; Jaqua Concert Hall; repeated at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 10

Saturday, Aug. 5

• 9:30 a.m. film — Buck Privates (1941); host HOward Schuman; Sheffer Hall; free
• 1:30 p.m. concert — Your Date with the Duke; Chuck Redd, director; Jaqua Concert Hall; repeated at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 9
• 5 p.m. talk — Good Cheer from Home; host Jim Ralph; Sheffer Hall; free
• 7:30 p.m. concert — Dick Tracy in B Flat; Jesse Cloninger, director; Jaqua Concert Hall; repeated at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 11

Sunday, Aug. 6

• 4 p.m. Jazz Party — 52nd Street;  host Chuck Redd; Jaqua Concert Hall (cabaret-style seating)

Monday, Aug. 7 — day off

Tuesday, Aug. 8

• 9:30 a.m. film — The Fabulous Dorseys (1947); host Howard Schuman; Scheffer Hall; free
• 7:30 p.m. concert — I’ll Never Smile Again, co-directed by The Anderson Brothers; Jaqua Concert Hall

Wednesday, Aug. 9

• 9:30 a.m. film — Meet Me in St. Louis (1944; host Howard Schuman; Sheffer Hall; free
• 1:30 p.m. Community Sing-Along — The Love Songs of WWII; host Amy Adams; Sheffer Hall; free
• 5 p.m. talk — Duke Ellington & WWII; Sheffer Hall; free
• 7:30 p.m. concert — Your Date with the Duke; Chuck Redd, director; Jaqua Concert Hall (performed first at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 5)

Thursday, Aug. 10

• 9:30 a.m. film — Four Jills in a Jeep (1944); host Howard Schuman; Sheffer Hall; free
• 1:30 p.m. concert — You’ll Never Know; Chuck Redd, director; Jaqua Concert Hall; performed first at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 4
• 5 p.m. talk — Entertainers of the Resistance; host Jim Ralph; Sheffer Hall; free
• 7:30 p.m. concert — BOUM!; Siri Vik, director; Jaqua Concert Hall; performed first at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 4

Friday, Aug. 11

• 9:30 a.m. film — Casablanca (1942); host Howard Schuman; Sheffer Hall; free
• 1:30 p.m. concert — Dick Tracy in B Flat; Jesse Cloninger, director; (performed first at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 5
• 5 p.m. talk — WWII in Hollywood; host Jim Ralph; Sheffer Hall; free
• 7:30 p.m. concert — We’ll Meet Again; Chuck Redd, director; performed first at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 3

Saturday, Aug. 12

• 9:30 a.m. film — Anchors Aweigh (1945); host Howard Schuman; Sheffer Hall; free
• 1:30 p.m. concert — In the Mood; Chuck Redd, director; Jaqua Concert Hall performed first at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 2
• 7:30 p.m. concert — A Long, Long time; Shirley Andress, director; Jaqua Concert Hall; performed first at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 3

Tickets and information: Available at The Shedd Institute ticket office, 541-434-7000, in person at 868 High St., Eugene, or online at theshedd.org/OFAM2023

Participating artists

Music director: Chuck Redd

Guest directors: Shirley Andress, Jesse Cloninger, Siri Vik, Will & Peter Anderson

Vocalists: Shirley Andress, Lynnea Barry, Marisa Frantz, Vanessa Greenway, Lucy Geller, Heidi Turnquist, Tracy Williams-Tooze, Siri Vik, Shae Brodsky, Tate Foshay, Bill Hulings, Matthew Leach, Nehemiah Nance, Dylan Stasack

Instrumentalists:

Piano — Vicki Brabham, Randy Porter (week 2); Ted Rosenthal (week 1)

Bass — Nicki Parrott, Nathan Waddell, Tom Wakeling

Drums — Kenan Edler, Kevin Kanner, Paige Lavelli

Vibes and drums — Chuck Redd

Guitar — Howard Alden (week 1), Randy Napoleon (week 2), Ruxton Schuh, Gerry Remple

Violin — Julia Frantz

Cello — Kathryn Brunhaver

Trumpet — Tim Clarke (week 1), Burnette Dillon, Bruce Harris (week 2), Dave Bender, Cody Simmons

Trombone — Dan Barrett, Glenn Griffith, Richard Lewis

Reeds — Peter Anderson (week 2), Will Anderson (week 2), Jesse Cloninger, Jonathan Corona, Miles Griffith (week 1), Scott Silbert (week 1), Matthew Taylor, Devin Wright

Sing-along leader: Amy Adams

Speakers: Jim Ralph, Howard Schuman