Haskell Harr
Elected to the Percussive Arts Society’s Hall of Fame in 1972 in the categories of author, education, radio/television, and rudimental. Haskell Harr is best known as the author of graded method books for rudimental snare drumming.
-
-
James Salmon
by Frederick D. Fairchild Master teacher and percussionist James Salmon was on the University of Michigan music faculty from 1954 until 1972. His background included study with Roy. C. Knapp in Chicago, teaching at Knapp’s famed School of Percussion, touring with Clair Omar Musser’s 1936 Marimba Orchestra, performing 4 1/2 years in military bands, and…
-
Morris Goldenberg
by Frederick D. Fairchild Famed percussionist, teacher, and author Morris Goldenberg’s work centered around New York, where in 1938 he became percussionist at WOR. He played for recordings, film scores, TV commercials, served on the NBC-TV staff, and eventually performed for most of the major conductors. His fame as a teacher stems from his affiliation…
-
Harry Partch
by Frederick D. Fairchild Composer Harry Partch created a music that by its nature led to the invention of a fantastic array of percussion instruments. Rejecting equal temperament and much of Western musical heritage, he developed a system based on Just tuning and conceived of a “corporeality” that demanded special instrumental resources. He spoke of…
-
Clair Omar Musser
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…
-
Frank Arsenault
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…
-
James Blades
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…
-
Paul Price
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…
-
Gene Krupa
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…
-
William Street
by Frederick D. Fairchild William G. Street was Professor of Percussion at the Eastman School of Music from 1927 to 1967. Street began his professional career at the age of 15, playing in motion-picture theaters, finally taking the Eastman Theater job in 1922. Seven years later Howard Hanson recruited him for the Eastman faculty. Always…
