Friends and Neighbors: Mills Orchestra performs one last time

Saxophone player and band leader Goerge Millonas pauses after a rehearsal for his orchestra’s final concert. “My lungs are OK,” he said. “But my body is giving out.”

Band leader George Millonas was touched with Catherine Dauber approached him to say how much she enjoyed the concert.

Drummer Albert Hasselman leaves his base drum to retrieve the other parts of his kit before a recent rehearsal at the Oak Park Arms.

“In The Good Old Days,” the Mils Orchestra had 35 members. For their final performance, the orchestra played with nine.

Liene Sorenson, right, Pat Parsons, Jm Scherer and Albert Hasselman practice with the rest of the Mills Orchestra at the Oak Park Arms on May 14.

George Satala, left, Albert Hasselman and Jim Scherer practice with the rest of the Mills Orchestra at the Oak Park Arms on May 14.

The hands of George Satala, 88.

The hands of George Satala, 88.

George Satala plays away on the clarinet during a rehearsal for the final concert.

Neva Millonas is the Mills Orchestra librarian, taking care of sheet music but also helping band members set up for rehearsals and performances.

Neva Millonas, left, is the Mills Orchestra librarian, taking care of sheet music but also helping band members, including Albert Hasselman, set up for rehearsals and performances.

George Millonas laughs after he decides to scratch a number during rehearsal for the Mills Orchestra’s final performance.

Cellist Pat Parson uses special glasses to read her sheet music.

The Mills Orchestra, founded in 1974, playing its final concert at the Oak Park Arms. The orchestra played with just nine on May 28, down from a high of 35.

Neva Millonas is the Mills Orchestra librarian, taking care of sheet music but also helping band members set up for rehearsals and performances.

The audience for the last performance at the Oak Park Arms.

Violinist Liene Sorenson, left, and clarinet Goerge Satala say goodbye following the Mill Orchestra’s final concert.

Clarinet player George Satala, left, and drummer Albert Hasselman part ways following the concert.

Band leader George Millonas shuffled through loose sheet music, dropping a page, which prompted him to tell the audience, “Just like me, my music is falling apart.”

As the last notes of the “All American March” sounded through the Oak Park Arms ballroom May 28, Millonas said into a microphone, “That’s all folks.”

He and his Mills Orchestra bandmates, quietly returned their instruments to their cases. It was their last performance, ending almost 40 years of performances.

Once nearly 50 members strong, the orchestra played its final performance with just nine musicians.

Many of the band members died off or got too old to play. The band made several attempts to recruit new members.

“It’s just the end of an era,” said George’s wife, Neva, the band’s librarian and manager. “I think about all the people who contributed, the people who played trumpet, the piano players. They’re just no longer here anymore. When’s it going to be our time?”