Winter 2015
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TOWER
5
KU Accepts Collection of Rare
Percussion Instruments
Kutztown University is now home to
the largest collection of rare xylophones,
marimbas and vibraphones in the
nation. U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Dana
Kimble, retired percussion instructor at
West Point Military Academy, chose
KU to be the permanent home for his
collection of rare instruments owned by
the late Clair Omar Musser, a world-
renowned percussionist.
The KU Percussion Ensemble held
a concert celebrating the collection and
the music of Musser’s 1935 International
Marimba Symphony Orchestra after
the installation.
Born in Lancaster, Pa., Musser was
a marimba virtuoso, designer and edu-
cator. He appeared internationally in
more than 400 concerts, performing
at the White House, for Paramount
KU Offers Online Autism Endorsement
Program for Educators
Beginning in winter 2015, Kutztown University’s Department of Special Education will offer
an online, 12-credit autism endorsement program for currently certified teachers or seniors
who are enrolled in a program leading to instructional certification. The endorsement will
provide current teachers and teachers-in-training with an in-depth background on working
with students with autism.
“Autism is the fastest growing disability,” explained Dr. Debra Lynch, chair of KU’s
Department of Special Education. “One in 68 children will be diagnosed with autism.
So persons who are already teaching have students in their classes with autism – or they
are going to.”
Requirements for the endorsement can be completed in three short semesters, over the
winter, spring and summer sessions. Furthermore, the online-only format makes the endorse-
ment accessible for both KU students (seniors) and current educators. All of the faculty in the
special education department are certified to teach online, and all have experience with, and
knowledge of, autism spectrum disorder.
The KU Percussion Ensemble performs a concert in honor of the late Clair Omar Musser.
Pictures and conducting a 300-
piece marimba orchestra at the
1950 Chicago Fair.
In 1935 Musser organized 100
performers into the International
Marimba Symphony Orchestra
(IMSO) tour and in 1942 he
founded the marimba studies pro-
gram at Northwestern University,
the first program of its kind. At 74,
he was elected into the Percussive
Arts Society Hall of Fame.
Musser died in 1998 at 97, in
San Fernando Valley, Calif. Upon
the settlement of his estate, all of
his instruments and memorabilia
were acquired by Kimble, who had
organized a marimba festival in
honor of Musser just months
before his death.
In 1979, Dr. Willis Rapp, retired
professor and former chair of the
KU Department of Music, then a
professor at Millersville University,
brought Musser to Lancaster to
re-create the music of the IMSO
tour. Beginning in 2009, Rapp spent
four years creating full-score critical
editions of all of the music per-
formed during the 1935 IMSO
tour to preserve the legacy of the
music. Rapp established the KU
Percussion Ensemble in 1986.
