Maurice P. Kessler Collection in Honor of Albert Schweitzer Papers

Maurice Peter Kessler was born Moritz Koessler on July 10, 1889 in Strasbourg Alsace-Loraine, France, the son of Peter Joseph and Florence Mathilda. Kessler wrote of having fourteen years of intensive training in music, specializing in violin, prior to his graduation from the Municipal Conservatory of Music in Strasbourg in 1908. During this time he also attended the Ober Realschule.

After graduation from the Hochschule in Berlin, Germany, Kessler served as the first violinist at the Berlin Royal Opera House. He also played in the orchestra for the Wagner Festivals at Bayreuth during the summers of 1912 and 1914. During this time Kessler worked under such notables as Richard Strauss and Siegfried Wagner.

Kessler immigrated to the United States in 1912, taking the position of first violinist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. On September 4, 1912, Kessler married Juliette Kromer (b.1890) of Strasburg Alsace-Loraine. The couple had two children, Ralph and Fleurette. In 1916, Kessler moved to Oberlin, Ohio, where he joined the Oberlin Conservatory of Music as a Professor of Violin and Ensemble.

In addition to teaching violin and viola, Kessler directed the Musical Union for seventeen years, the Oberlin Conservatory Orchestra for 30 years, and the First Church Choir for more than 20 years. He also served as professor of orchestral conducting and as a chamber music coach, played in the faculty string quartet and toured as a member of the Oberlin Conservatory Trio.

Throughout his time at Oberlin, Kessler conducted extensive research in the world of ancient instruments and their music, spending his sabbatical leave of absence from 1927-28 touring libraries and conservatories throughout Europe. He accumulated a large collection of instruments, many of them African gifts given to him by Albert Schweitzer, a life-long friend of Kessler and his wife. Over the course of his life, Kessler made numerous appearances as a performer and lecturer on his research, pioneering the Oberlin Conservatory’s exploration of old instruments.

During his lifetime Kessler repeatedly served as guest conductor for various orchestras, including the Great Lakes Symphony Orchestra (1936) and the Boston Symphony Orchestra (1937). He served as director of the Musical Arts Chorus of Elyria (Ohio) for several years. In 1941 he was awarded the Bruckner Medal of Honor.

In 1954 Kessler retired with his wife to Sarasota, Florida, where he continued to play part-time with the Florida West Coast Symphony Orchestra. The next year he returned to Oberlin as director of the First United Methodist Church choir, a position he held until he retired again in 1965. In 1970 Kessler passed away at the Elms Convalescent Home in Wellington, Ohio, where he had been living for three years. He was 81 years old.

Note written by Caitlin Condell.