27 Facts About Minuetta Kessler

Minuetta Shumiatcher Borek Kessler was a Russian-born Canadian and later American concert pianist, classical music composer, and educator.

Minuetta Kessler composed hundreds of pieces, including music for piano, violin, voice, flute, clarinet and cello, as well as for chamber ensembles.

Minuetta Kessler performed all over Canada and in Boston and New York, including performances at Carnegie Hall and The Town Hall, and with the Boston Civic Symphony and the Boston Pops.

Minuetta Kessler taught musical composition to young children, creating and patenting a game called "Staftonia" for this purpose.

Minuetta Kessler was born Minuetta Shumiatcher in Gomel, Russia, the eldest child of Abraham Isaac Shumiatcher, a lawyer who attended the University of Alberta Faculty of Law and was appointed a Queen's Counsel, and his wife, Luba Lubinsky, a graduate of the University of Warsaw who worked as a tutor for children in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Minuetta Kessler's parents had moved to Calgary before her birth, but her mother was visiting her native country when Minuetta was born.

Minuetta Kessler had a younger brother, Dr Morris C Shumiatcher, QC, who became a noted Canadian lawyer.

Minuetta Kessler went on to study piano under Gladys McKelvie Egbert in Calgary.

Minuetta Kessler graduated from Juilliard in 1934 and engaged in post-graduate studies until 1936, as well as taught piano at Juilliard for several years.

Minuetta Kessler went on to perform more than 50 solo concert programs on WNYC.

Minuetta Kessler played at Carnegie Hall with the Boston Civic Symphony and with the Boston Pops.

Minuetta Kessler was recorded playing her own compositions on "Music for Solo Instruments" and "Childhood Cameos".

Minuetta Kessler composed hundreds of pieces, including music for piano, violin, voice, flute, clarinet and cello, as well as for chamber ensembles.

Minuetta Kessler is a most refined pianist and her own Alberta Concerto is in every sense a work of great magnitude.

Minuetta Kessler operated her own publishing company, Music Resources, from her home.

Minuetta Kessler taught piano in her home in Belmont until 1998, when she began experiencing memory problems.

Minuetta Kessler specialized in teaching musical composition to young children, creating and patenting a game called "Staftonia" for this purpose.

Minuetta Kessler used a "simplified notational system" called "Dash-a-Notes" in her music primer, Piano Is My Name.

Minuetta Kessler lectured and conducted workshops for music teachers, and wrote articles for such publications as The American Music Teacher, the Christian Science Monitor, Clavier, Massachusetts Music News, and Piano Guild Notes.

Minuetta Kessler co-founded the New England Jewish Music Forum in 1958.

Minuetta Kessler helped establish Concerts in the Home and Friends of Young Musicians.

Minuetta Kessler served as president of the New England Piano Teachers' Association, the American Women Composers of Massachusetts, and the Massachusetts Music Teachers Association.

Minuetta Kessler belonged to the Beth El Temple Center in Belmont.

Minuetta Kessler was a two-time recipient of the CAPAC Prize, for her "New York Suite" in 1946 and "Ballet Sonatina" in 1947.

Minuetta Kessler was given the key to the city of Calgary in 1951, and was named the Alberta Outstanding Woman Composer and Musician in 1955.

Minuetta Kessler received Composer awards from the Brookline Library Music Association in 1957 and the National Federation of Music Clubs in 1975.

Minuetta Kessler died at her home in Belmont on November 30,2002, at the age of 88, and was interred at Sharon Memorial Park.