Hall of Fame 1975

by Frederick D. Fairchild Marimba virtuoso Clair Omar Musser’s influence on playing, teaching, composition, and manufacture has been pervasive. He performed his own arrangements of Chopin, Mendelssohn, Bach, Paganini, and others internationally. His solo compositions and transcriptions and his ensemble arrangements have enjoyed great popularity. Musser’s large marimba orchestras were acclaimed throughout the world. He…

by Frederick D. Fairchild Frank Arsenault was one of the most influential of modern American rudimental drummers. Three-time, undefeated National Solo Snare Drum Champion, Arsenault later brought the Skokie Indians and Chicago Cavaliers drum lines to national prominence, and his students eventually gained five Veterans of Foreign Wars National Championships. His unique technical command of…

by Frederick D. Fairchild James Blades, renowned percussionist and scholar, and for many years Professor of Percussion at the Royal Academy of Music, received wide acclaim for his 1970 book Percussion Instruments and Their History. Always in demand as one of England’s finest players, he played under the most prestigious conductors in the world. For…

by Frederick D. Fairchild Paul Price was a native of Fitchburg, Massachusetts. After his early percussion studies, he attended the New England Conservatory of Music where his exposure to the works of Varese and contact with visiting artist Henry Cowell aroused his interest in percussion ensemble music. Upon receiving his diploma in 1942, he spent…

by Frederick D. Fairchild Eugene Burtram Krupa was born in Chicago in 1909. Drumming since the age of 12, he joined a grouop of young musicians called the Frivolians, working summer jobs in Wisconsin. At sixteen he enered St. Joseph’s College to study for the priesthood, but he quit after one year to become a…