THE BBC Big Band is paying tribute to the music of American band leader Glenn Miller in an eight-date tribute tour that opens at the Grand Opera House, York, on Sunday.

For Barry Forgie, the musical director who first conducted the BBC Big Band in 1977, the Miller project is a welcome addition to the repertoire. "Miller's music is timeless, and there are lots of reasons why," he says.

"There is the romanticism of his early death, which appeals to the human condition. When someone dies young, their work is incomplete and that was the case with Glenn Miller. And the sound is immediately recognisable, although people don't necessarily know how it was created."

With that in mind, part of Sunday's concert will focus on the origins of the Miller sound. "We'll show how he worked with his arrangers to make that sound: a sound we all recognise within 20 seconds," Barry says.

Another factor made a Miller show attractive. "There's the element of nostalgia. The Second World War was such a unifying experience for the older generation that they still hold on to it, and Miller's music is particularly evocative of that period," Barry says.

So, come Sunday, the BBC Big Band will be playing the likes of Moonlight Serenade, In The Mood, Tuxedo Junction, Little Brown Jug and Pennsylvania 6-5000, as well as lesser-known Miller band numbers, in the company of guest vocalist Jeff Hooper and the BBC Big Band Singers.

BBC Big Band, Glenn Miller Tribute Tour 2001, Grand Opera House, York, Sunday, 7.30pm. Tickets: £13, £12; ring 01904 671818.