John Christian Bechler

In 1817 he accepted the principalship of Nazareth Hall, and subsequently had charge of various churches in Pennsylvania and on Staten Island.

In his memoir, he wrote that while studying at the seminary he "devoted every moment of time left by other duties, to the acquisition of the various branches of this charming art with the greatest delight, learning to sing, to play various stringed instruments, but more particularly the piano and the organ.

"[2] Before being called to the United States, Bechler would have been happy to stay at his teaching post in Barby where he "...might train many excellent organists.

"[3] After his arrival in Pennsylvania he may have studied with David Moritz Michael,[2] who was at that time the director of the Bethlehem Collegium Musicum.

[4] With the exception of a few compositions in manuscript in collections at the Warsaw University Library, most of Bechler's are to be found in the Moravian archives in Herrnhut, Germany and in the collections of the Moravian Music Foundation in either Winston-Salem, NC or Bethlehem, PA. Several of Bechler's anthems have been edited and translated into English for modern performance.