Melissa Oresky holds Flat Sousa and Simon Boerger as they and Basia Stanek read about Carl Busch.
Carl Busch was a close professional colleague of John Philip Sousa and A. Austin Harding, and along with his colleagues served as a founding member of the American Bandmasters Association. Known as “Uncle Carl, to all his friends, Busch’s extensive music instrument collection was donated to the University of Illinois in 1936 and 1937 to honor the memory Sousa and Harding’s contributions to the American band movement. Busch wrote to Harding on September 7, 1937, “It was a happy idea of you, Austin, to bring the collection to Urbana where band music, as represented by your own splendid efforts, has become so important. The annual clinics and festivals, centrally located, make it an ideal place for the collection, and efforts should be made to make it the best of its kind in the United States.” Today the Carl Busch Papers and Music Instrument Collection remains one of the most unique collections of music instruments at the University of Illinois.