[1] Kiefert was born in Germany to a German father and French-born mother.
[2] His father was a music master in the 19th Field Artillery Regiment of the German Army.
[3] He first came to Britain at 22 years old as a cellist with the Meiningen Ensemble, performing at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
[5] "His acknowledged expertise and speed at instrumentation made Kiefert the most sought-after arranger of theatre scores and he regularly orchestrated for Lionel Monckton and Osmond Carr.
"[1] In 1914, Kiefert moved to New York with his wife, Priscilla Leach, and daughter Emily,[6][7] but returned to the UK in 1925.