Sunday Afternoon Public Programs
November 19, 2:00 PM  •  Presented by Matt Marble, Ph.D.

In tracing the esoteric history of American music, Theosophy is a pervasive influence. Its influence on American music began around the turn of the 19th century, almost immediately after The Theosophical Society was founded in 1875. Its influence continued into the 1970s, if not beyond. From the psychic pianism of Francis Grierson to the angelic visions of William Grant Still, Theosophy was embraced and championed by American composers, whose timeless radicalism often lost them to history. Continue reading →

Sunday Afternoon Public Programs
November 5, 2:00 PM  •  Presented by Kurt Leland

Theosophical teachings posit the existence of a parallel evolutionary scheme to that of human beings, populated by nonphysical intelligences that are responsible for the creation and maintenance of life on our planet and its associated nonphysical realms — the deva evolution. The term deva is Sanskrit for “shining one,” and is roughly equivalent to what Westerners call angels. This evolution, which includes nature spirits at the lower end and mighty archangelic beings at the upper end, has exerted a fascination for composers for centuries, Continue reading →