Kelley, Edgar Stillman, 1857-1944

Edgar Stillman Kelley was a distinguished American composer of the early 20th century. A pianist, conductor, scholar, teacher, lecturer and author he captured the hearts and minds of audiences and critics around the world. Born in 1857 in Sparta, Wisconsin, he was surrounded by music, art and literature. His mother was an accomplished musician who gave Edgar his first piano lessons and inspired Edgar to pursue a professional career in music. He received formal lessons from noted musicians and was given opportunities to perform with recognized orchestras. In 1874, he moved to Chicago where he studied piano with the Director of the Chicago Conservatory of Music. He went to Germany in 1876 where he entered the Stuttgart Conservatory. There Kelley studied with instructors of international renown and in 1883 earned national attention when he performed his "Macbeth" overture in Chicago.

During his career Kelley worked as an interim conductor of a light opera company, a church organist, a music critic for the San Francisco Examiner, a lecturer at New York University, a teacher at the New York College of Music and an interim professor and conductor at Yale University. In 1891, he married Jessie Gregg, who would play a role in his success. An accomplished pianist and singer, she continued to perform but sacrificed much of her career to promote her husband's. He received notable acclaim for his composition "Aladdin Suite," based on his study of Chinese music in San Francisco in 1894, and in 1899 composed music for a dramatization of the Lew Wallace novel Ben Hur.

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