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Tacoma Concert Band Founder and Conductor Retires

Tacoma Concert Band
Robert Musser conducts the Tacoma Concert Band.

 

 

Robert Musser is passionate about music. His eyes light up as he talks about a passage that gives him chills. His voice fills with emotion as he describes his career as an educator and conductor.

 

 

Musser’s love of music motivated him to call about 60 musicians in the Puget Sound area in the summer of 1981. The all-volunteer Tacoma Concert Band has been performing ever since under Musser’s direction. Along the way, the band has won awards and toured internationally.

 

Now Musser has decided to step down. KNKX All Things Considered host Ed Ronco talked with him about his career, and about his upcoming final concert.

 

It will feature a variety of composers and genres, including works by Percy Grainger, Carl Maria von Weber, John Philip Sousa, and Andrew Lloyd Weber. The band will also premiere “Pacific Crest Overture” by Joseph Turrin, commissioned by the TCB for this concert.

The Tacoma Concert Band will perform at 7:30 p.m. on April 28 at the Pantages Theater in Tacoma. More information can be found at the Tacoma Concert Band’s website.

 

Ed Ronco is a former KNKX producer and reporter and hosted All Things Considered for seven years.