Clair Omar Musser composer / arranger

Clair Omar Musser (1901–1998) was a marimba virtuoso, a conductor and promoter of marimba orchestras, a composer, a teacher, a designer of keyboard percussion instruments, an inventor, and an engineer for Hughes Aircraft.
One of the most notable of Musser's contributions to the world of percussion is his work as a conductor and promoter of large marimba orchestras. One of the first of such groups was a 25-piece, all-girl marimba ensemble for a Paramount Pictures event in Chicago. In 1933 at the Century of Progress International Exhibition in Chicago, Musser conducted a marimba orchestra of 100 players. A special marimba, the "Century of Progress Model" was designed by Musser and produced by the Deagan company. Most of Musser's future marimba orchestras would follow a similar model. That is, Musser would select players, arrange and write the music, rehearse and conduct the orchestra, and design a special instrument for the group. The largest group Musser had ever assembled was an orchestra of 300 marimbas appearing at the Chicago Railroad Fair in 1950.
Musser's work as a composer spanned his entire career, though much of that work has been lost. As of 1941 he had published fifty-three works, including piano solos, sacred music, and arrangements for marimba and vibraphone. The only Musser originals that survive today are:

Etude in Ab, Op.6, No.2;
Etude, Op.6, No.8 ("Nature Boy"/"Whole Tone");
Etude, Op.6, No.9 (B Major);
Etude in C Major, Op.6, No.10;
Prelude, Op.11, No.3 (G Major);
Etude, Op.11, No.4 (C Major);
Prelude, Op.11, No.7 (D Major).

Those pieces remain standard repertoire for students and professionals alike. Musser assigned an opus number to 10 works at a time, and then began a new set. Since we know of works up to opus 11, it can safely be assumed that over 100 works have been lost. Musser was known to be somewhat disorganized and careless in certain matters, and with his etudes he would simply write one for a student, hand out the original, and think nothing more of it. Two of Musser's other surviving works are arrangements from his marimba orchestras. Rosales' "Bolero" from the 1933 Century of Progress Orchestra, and Saint-Saëns' "Piano Concerto no. 2" from a 1942 performance by a 160-piece marimba orchestra at Soldier's Field in Chicago.