John Jacob Kessler, Jr. was born on April 24, 1904 in St. Louis and died in St. Louis on November 12, 1963. He was a pupil of Leo C. Miller until 1923. He then traveled to New York to study theory and composition with Ernest Bloch. In 1924 Kessler enrolled in the Chicago Musical College and studied piano with Edward Collins and composition with Felix Borowski. In 1927 he earned the degree “Master of Music” from the Sherwood Music School in Chicago. Kessler spent the 1928-1929 season in Europe furthering his piano studies with Isidor Philipp at the Conservatoire national de Paris.

Known as a pianist, teacher and composer, he taught at the Leo C. Miller Studios at Euclid and McPherson Streets in St. Louis. Kessler’s works include many songs, an opera, Women of Andros and an orchestral piece, Soliloquy.