Edgar Stillman Kelley (4/14/1857-11/2/1944) was an American composer, conductor, teacher, and writer on music born in Sparta, Wisconsin to a musical family. He was also a talented artist and writer, but devoted his life to music, moving to Chicago at age 17 to study organ, piano, and composition at Stuttgart. His college career was interrupted by bouts of poor health, but he ultimately graduated in 1880.
Kelley then performed around Europe with different orchestras until returning to the United States to work as a church organist and music critic for the Examiner in San Francisco. He held a fellowship at MacDowell and taught at New York College of Music, New York University, Yale, and Western College for Women in Ohio.
