Hastings College orchestra director takes on new role

(AP) — Longtime Hastings College linchpin Robin Koozer has relinquished his role as chair of the music department to assume yet another noteworthy role on behalf of the fine arts.

Koozer, 62, who has anchored the music department for 29 years, handed off the baton to professor and Hastings Symphony Orchestra director Byron Jensen on Jan. 31 and to turn his attention to a fundraising role for the fine arts, the Hastings Tribune (http://bit.ly/2l0fOCz ) reported.

Regarded by many as the face of Hastings College's music department, Koozer has been instrumental in maintaining the town and gown mentality established by his predecessors.

From involving students in local church choirs and student-teaching positions and helping launch South Central Nebraska Children's Chorale in residence on campus some 25 years ago, to hosting such community events as "Messiah" and "Melody Roundup," the college's rich tradition of giving back has continued to flourish under his watch.

A candy dish of Tootsie Roll pops on his desk hearkens back to the wholesale candy and tobacco business owned by the family.

In his new role, he will look to help garner support for a dedicated performing arts space on campus to reinvigorate the tired and hallowed halls of Fuhr Hall, an addition he believes will further Hastings College's "renaissance movement" launched earlier this year by the completion of the Jackson Dinsdale Art Center.

Another time, after getting some of the guys to watch a local cooking show on television, he wrote a fan letter to the host and included a recipe he invented.

When Christmas trees were banned in dorm rooms on campus, he defied the rule and was harshly disciplined for chopping down and decorating a pine tree from the then-president's yard for Bronc Hall, Mountford said.

On two occasions, gags he helped initiate disrupted honors convocation ceremonies at French Memorial Chapel.

The first involved leaving a Dumpster full of cement blocks on stage; second, blocking the chapel doors with automobiles borrowed from unwitting students on campus.

After graduation, Koozer took over for Mountford as a music teacher at Superior High School when the latter decided to pursue a career as a professional entertainer.

When I think of Hastings College and Hastings as a community, I'm so grateful that Robin has agreed to continue on and start raising money for a performing arts center.