 Upon his return to the United States, he came west to San Francisco, where he worked as a church organist and was a music critic for the "Examiner".He also became active as a composer, writing incidental music for a production of "Macbeth" that garnered him much attention.An interest in theater drew him to New York City in 1886, and there he married Jessie Gregg on July 23, 1891; the two then returned to California for four more years, during which time Kelley composed, conducted, lectured, and taught.