Sigma Alpha Iota

sai-national.org • Winter 2022 15 CONTINUED ON PAGE 23 husband, Dr. Myer Kessler, where they would have a daughter. It is in Belmont that she organized and ran her own publishing company, Music Resources, out of their home. She taught piano in her home for a number of years and was active as a presenter and lecturer for music teachers. In addition, she authored articles that appeared in the American Music Teacher, Christian Science Monitor, Clavier, Massachusetts Music News, and Piano Guild Notes. She belonged to several professional organizations as well: the New England Pianoforte Piano Teachers' Association; the American Women Composers of Massachusetts; Sigma Alpha Iota as an Honorary Member and member of the Composers Bureau; and co-founded the New England Jewish Music Forum, Friends of Young Musicians, and Concerts in the Home. As a teacher, Kessler was invested in teaching her young students the musicianship they needed. As a result, she invented the music game Staonia (Belmont, 1960), and published Piano is My Name (Belmont, 1975), a method that employed a simple form of reading notation for students. In addition, she wrote a significant number of piano pieces ranging from the elementary to early advanced pianist. ese pieces are unique in style and sound, and they address solid musical and technical requirements for the young pianist. Kessler died in 2002. About "Evocation" About "Evocation" Evocation for the Le Hand Alone was written for and received first prize in the National Contest for a le hand piano piece by the National League of American Pen Women 1988 Biennial Convention. Published by her company, Musical Resources, it is a hand-written manuscript. Evolution is sectional: the austere opening returns at the end of the piece to unify the compositional material. Ex. 1. Measures 1-10 Kessler cleverly uses major, minor, and diminished chords that mark yet another section which is featured several times throughout the score. Ex. 2. Measures 11-12 ere are challenging leaps in registers for the le hand, and in several cases, the hand negotiated passage-work that spans several octaves. Ex. 3 A scherzando marks a middle point in the piece and it is here that the le hand engages in more of a perpetual-motion style than at any other point in the piece. Ex. 4 Ex. 1. Measures 1-10 Ex. 1. Measures 1-10 Ex. 2. Measures 11-12 Ex. 2. Measures 11-12 Ex. 3 Ex. 3 Ex. 4 Ex. 4 Cposers

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