Harrison Keller
Biographical Sketch | Scope | Provenance | Access & Copyright | Container List
Physical description: .25 lin. ft; one drop-front box. These records are primarily paper files along with a small number of photographs.
Biographical Sketch: Harrison Keller (1889-1979) graduated from Bethany College with a Bachelor’s of Music degree in 1908. From 1908-1911, Keller studied violin at Stern’s Conservatory in Berlin with Gustav Hollander and Anton Witek. During the years 1913-1914, Keller studied violin with Leopold Auer in St. Petersburg, as well as in Prague and at The Hague. In World War I, Keller served as a lieutenant, acting as leader of the 301st Artillery Band in France.
Keller was once offered the concertmastership of the Boston Symphony Orchestra but declined in favor of a career in chamber music and teaching. He joined the faculty of New England Conservatory in 1921, first chairing the violin department and later the string department. During this period Keller founded the Boston String Quartet. In 1946, Keller was appointed Director of NEC, and was named its first President in 1951 when NEC became a college. He served in this capacity until 1958, but remained an active voice as President Emeritus for many years after his formal resignation. During Keller’s tenure, he increased the prestige of the Conservatory faculty, improved facilities, and tripled the amount of the Conservatory’s endowment.
During his career, Keller also served as Director of the Boston Opera Association, Trustee of the Paderewski and Frank Huntington Beebe Funds, and President of the National Association of Schools of Music for three terms. Keller was awarded honorary doctorates from Bethany College (1954), Hartt School of Music (1955), and NEC (1959).Keller was also appointed to the American Academy of Arts.
Scope and Content Note: This collection is organized into seven series:
1) Correspondence
2) Bequests
3) Subject Files
4) Writings (Speeches/Reports/Tributes)
5) Biographical Materials
6) Concert programs
7) Photographs
President Keller’s Correspondence is divided into three categories: correspondence prior to Keller’s presidency; presidential correspondence; and correspondence as President Emeritus. Keller’s early correspondence dates from 1915 to 1942. There are letters/postcards from Leopold Auer (one of Keller’s teachers), Ida May Chadwick, Edward Burlingame Hill, Mrs. Edward MacDowell, Wallace Goodrich, and several letters from Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge. Presidential correspondence includes memoranda to faculty and correspondence with Randall Thompson from Harvard University regarding a possible institutional affiliation, as well as correspondence concerning the Walter Naumburg Foundation, the possibility of a French cultural exchange with NEC, and the Berkshire Music Center. One individual folder concerns the status of then NEC student Sarah Caldwell. Go to container list.
Keller’s correspondence as President Emeritus includes further exchanges regarding the Berkshire Music Center and a French cultural exchange, as well as correspondence with Sherwin Badger, Chairman of the NEC Board of Trustees concerning the troubled financial situation at NEC and also the planning for the Firestone Library. Additional correspondents include: Arthur Fiedler; W. McNeil Lowry of the Ford Foundation; Howard Hanson of the University of Rochester; and Randall Thompson from Harvard University, regarding a possible joint degree program between the two institutions. In addition, this category contains letters from Keller to Donald Martino regarding the Paderewski Fund for Composers, as well as several letters/memoranda from Keller to then President Gunther Schuller. One contains background information on Brown Hall; another includes an outline describing alternative teaching methods that could be employed by the Conservatory in the case of lack of funds. There is one last letter included, written by Chester Williams to Mrs. Keller after Harrison’s death, describing what his legacy will be at NEC. Go to container list.
Significant Bequests described in the Keller papers include the Cobb Walker Library and the Wendell Endicott collection of paintings, as well as a memorandum entitled “Total Funds Received as Gifts, 1931-1946.” Go to container list.
The Subject Files contain a small amount of material relating to NEC’s 90th Anniversary that took place in 1957, a file concerning the planning/construction and opening of the new dormitory building in 1959, and the Harrison Keller String Quartet. Go to container list.
Keller’s Writings have been organized into four categories: speeches at NEC; reports/essays on NEC topics; tributes; and speeches/reports given outside of the Conservatory. Among Keller’s NEC speeches are statements that Keller gave to the faculty, including one on the occasion of his acceptance as President. Another speech is Keller’s address to the Conservatory community on the occasion of the opening of the dormitory and Spaulding Library in 1959. Among Keller’s reports/essays concerning NEC are: “A Brief Account of Fund Raising Activities during the period of 1951-1961,” “The Conservatory’s First Century of Progress (February 6, 1970), “An Introduction to Music” and “Notes from Harrison Keller” (January 30, 1963) and a handwritten statement discussing options during NEC’s financial crisis in 1970. Keller’s tributes honor Chester Williams, Carl McKinley, Richard Burgin, Wallace Goodrich, and Maurice Fremont-Smith. Keller’s writings outside of NEC include addresses to the Hartt School of Music (Commencement 1955) and the Peabody Institute, on the occasion of its 100th anniversary (February, 1957). This series also contains reports to the Middle States Association (NASM), the National Federation of Music Clubs (March 1956), and to the President of Mt. Allison University, evaluating that institution’s course offerings. Go to container list.
Biographical materials such as tributes/honoraria to Keller include feature articles on the occasion of his retirement from NEC, an honorary degree citation from the Hartt School of Music, and a memorandum to the NEC community regarding Keller’s death. Go to container list.
The sixth series of this collection features a number of concert programs collected by Keller during his days of study in Berlin, dating from 1907-1909. These programs were donated by Keller himself to the NEC library. Go to container list.
Finally there are several photographs in this collection (all 8 x 10s), depicting various events. These events most likely include Keller’s inaugural, Keller’s retirement, and professional organization meetings. Also included are a press photo and a photo which was featured in the 1952 class yearbook. Go to container list.
Provenance: This collection includes the materials created by, and belonging to Harrison Keller, who served as Acting Director of New England Conservatory from 1946-1947; Director from 1947-1953; and President, 1953-1958. The materials in this collection have been stored at NEC since Keller’s tenure.
Access: Access to the Keller Collection is granted by the Archivist or Director of Libraries. Appointments must be scheduled in advance. There are limited restrictions pertaining to this collection.
Copyright: All copyrights to this collection belong to the New England Conservatory. Permission to publish materials from this collection is granted by the Director of Libraries. This collection should be cited as: RG 1.4: Records of Harrison Keller, Director/President, 1946 -1958. New England Conservatory Archives, Boston, MA.
Box 1 – Folder 1
Correspondence, pre-Presidential
Box 1 – Folder 2
Correspondence/memoranda, Presidential
Box 1 – Folder 3
Correspondence, Presidential, re: Sarah Caldwell
Box 1 – Folder 4
Correspondence, President Emeritus
Box 1 – Folder 5
Correspondence, President Emeritus, to Gunther Schuller
Box 1 – Folder 6
Bequests
Box 1 – Folder 7
Dormitory/Planning/Opening
Box 1 – Folder 8
Harrison Keller String Quartet
Box 1 – Folder 9
NEC’s 90th Anniversary
Box 1 – Folder 9b
International Music Students Federation – Third Symposium
Series 4: Writings (Speeches/Reports/Tributes)
Box 1 – Folder 10
NEC Speeches
Box 1 – Folder 11
NEC Reports
Box 1 – Folder 12
NEC Tributes
Box 1 – Folder 13
Non-NEC Addresses/Reports
Series 5: Biographical Materials
Box 1 – Folder 14
Feature articles, honoraria, and biographical information
Box 1 – Folder 15
Concert Programs, 1907
Box 1 – Folder 16
Concert Programs, 1908-1909
Box 1 – Folder 17
Photographs