Institute of World Culture
Program for 2025
Theme for the Year:
CONCORD AND COMMUNITY
Saturday, January 11th, 2025
2:00–4:00 pm (PST). Free and open to all.
Live webcast (details below) and
In Person at
Concord Hall, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA
Presenters: Robert Moore and Kirk Gradin
Ancient wisdom traditions as well as poets and mystics from diverse cultures, portray the entire cosmos as a vast unified community, each living being indissolubly and interdependently interconnected with all other beings, each mirroring the whole in resplendent, though largely invisible, concord. On the visible human plane, however, we often seem enmeshed in polarization, internal and external disharmony, discord and strife with neighbors, communities, sects and institutions. What lies at the roots of such conflict and where are the hidden aquifers of healing solidarity and fraternity? Can philosophical and practical idealism, aims, paradigms and their resonant exemplars, past or present, help us move more wisely and creatively toward the white light of reconciliation, the restoration of harmonious kinship with each other and with Nature despite our diversities, current faults and past failures? This forum will attempt to engage us in such pressing questions as an introduction to the Institute of World Culture’s 2025 keynote theme: “Concord and Community.”
Biographical Information
Robert Moore is a life-long student of Plato and of wisdom traditions East and West. He has lived a life of service to the Santa Barbara community as an RN in acute rehabilitative medicine with a second career in non-profit educational programing and planning. As a member of IWC since its inception, he is known as a center of communal harmony, good humor and intuitive insight.
Kirk Gradin is a semi-retired local architect, illustrator and writer on topics of mystic philosophy, the spiritual in the arts and mythic symbolism. He has given recent presentations on ‘Pythagorean Harmonics’, ‘New Paradigms of Consciousness’, the Irish mystic George William Russell, and Henry David Thoreau.
Live webcast begins at the same time as the in-person program at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/user/iwcinsantabarbara/streams
A video of this program will also be available at the same link for future viewing.
Image: Institute of World Culture Stain Glass Window
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Forum
Celebrating Cultural Diversity in Music
Saturday, January 25th, 2025
2:00–4:00 pm (PST). Free event
Live webcast (details below) and In Person at
Concord Hall, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA
Presenters: Scott Marcus and the UCSB Middle East Ensemble
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The University of California Santa Barbara Middle East Ensemble will present a lecture/demonstration celebrating the cultural diversity of Middle East music traditions. Directed by UCSB Professor Scott Marcus, the Ensemble will present a three-part program: First, music representing religious traditions from Tunisia, Turkey, and Yemen. Second, examples of shared traditions (Lebanese/Persian; Syrian/New York; Azerbaijani and its neighbors). Third, they will conclude with two songs, Armenian and Egyptian, celebrating gatherings of family and friends. Join us for an afternoon of exciting music and celebration with one of Santa Barbara’s most loved musical groups! |
Live webcast begins at the same time as the in-person program at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/user/iwcinsantabarbara/streams
A video of this program will also be available at the same link for future viewing.
Image: UCSB Department of Music
Click here for a printer-friendly flyer
Forum
"The Magic Flute" as Symbolic of the Masonic Worldview
Saturday, February 8th, 2025
9:00 am –11:00 am (PST). Free event
In Person at Concord Hall, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA
Presenter: Yuliia Shabanova will join us from the Ukraine via Zoom (see below for Zoom link)
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Our speaker from the Ukraine, Professor Yuliia Shabanova, returns to the Institute via Zoom to talk about the Masonic movement in Vienna during Mozart’s time. Professor Shabanova will discuss something about Mozart’s operatic work in general, but the focus will be on Mozart’s opera “The Magic Flute.” She will explain how the symbolism of “The Magic Flute” expresses the Masonic ideal of the spiritual path. Participants are encouraged to read the libretto. Click here for a pdf. |
Join the event via Zoom by clicking the link below:
Join the event
in person at the Institute of World Culture, Concord Hall, 1407 Chapala St., Santa Barbara, CA.
Image: Public domain
Forum
Medicine: Bridging the Gap between East and West
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Tuesday, March 18th, 2025
7:00 –8:30 PM (PST) (NOTE time). Free event
In Person at Concord Hall, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA
Live Webcast (see details below)
Presenter: Gayatri Heesen, LAC
Chinese medicine is a comprehensive and complete form of healing. Western medicine has its own beauty and has its own unique attributes. The patient's health is the primary goal, and this presentation can express how we can bring the two medical modalities, Western and Chinese, together to achieve it.
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Gayatri Heesen is a graduate of Delhi University with an English literature emphasis. She went on to receive a Masters in Chinese Medicine from the Santa Barbara College of Oriental Medicine. She is a licensed practitioner, and has been in practice for 25 years. |
Webcast begins at 7:00 PM (PST). Click here to view the program. A recording will be available after the program for future viewing at the same link.
If the link does not work, copy the following and paste it into your browser: https://www.youtube.com/@iwcinsantabarbara/streams
Click here for a printer-friendly flyer to share with friends
Forum
Vinod Venkataraman in Conversation with Joseph Miller
Saturday, April 5, 2025
2:00 – 3:30 PM (PDT). A free event – open to all
In Person at Concord Hall, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA
Live Webcast (see details below)
Guest and Host: Vinod (V.R.) Venkataraman, Master Percussionist and Joseph Miller, Musician and Essayist
Vinod Venkataraman (V.R.), Artistic Director of The Music Circle in Los Angeles, is a rare blend of artistic and leadership ability. Born into a South Indian family with a rich musical ancestry, he studied the violin as a youth, then under the tutelage of one of the greatest exponents of the mridangam became a master of this ancient and complex percussion instrument. V.R. has taught music and applied mathematics at San Diego State University, and has collaborated and travelled with some of the greatest artists of our times, from Zakir Hussain to George Harrison, bringing his own blend of music to audiences worldwide. It is said that he believes in the philosophy of heart, mind, body and soul and that music is the food for the soul. He is passionate about imparting his knowledge of culture, music and math through the age-old tradition of transmission from guru to disciple. V.R. is also a retired physician, and is currently executive chef at Appu’s Turmeric Café in Long Beach.
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Joseph Miller is a freelance writer, former radio host, and a classical musician with a universal spirit and love of wisdom. |
Webcast begins at 2:00 PM (PDT). Click here to view the program. A recording of the interview will be available after the program for future viewing at the same link.
If the link does not work, copy the following and paste it into your browser: https://www.youtube.com/@iwcinsantabarbara/streams
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Forum
Regenesis: Feeding the World without Devouring the Planet
Saturday, April 19, 2025
2:00 – 4:00 PM (PDT) – A free event – open to all
In Person at Concord Hall, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA
Live Webcast (see details below)
Speaker: Nari Miller, PhD
This forum, based on the framework presented in Regenesis: Feeding the World without Devouring the Planet by George Monbiot, will explore how to adjust modern agricultural methods to meet humanity's need for food and a healthy environment. While modern agriculture produces enough food for everyone, it replaces former wild lands and consumes massive amounts of fertilizers and herbicides. The resources and waste associated with revolutionary food production methods will be discussed in comparison with organic and conventional farming. Reducing the land area required of agriculture and returning it to wilderness would be most influential in improving ecosystem resiliency, and requires systemic changes to the modern system. We will discuss how the necessary scale of food production guides the recommendations presented in Regenesis, and how these proposed solutions may challenge our understanding of "sustainability".
Nari Miller, Ph.D., is a geomorphologist and educator. As a researcher, she studies how soils develop from eroded bedrock and windblown dust on limestone landscapes. She has quantified long-term rates of chemical erosion and dust accumulation at field sites in Arizona and Spain using soil geochemistry and climate data. She is an advocate of earth science as life enrichment; the geosciences inspire art, encourage exploration of philosophical questions regarding our origin, guide human history, and host the diverse and unusual creatures of our glorious planet.
*Webcast begins at 2:00 PM (PDT). Click here to view the program. A recording of the interview will be available after the program for future viewing at the same link.
If the link does not work, copy the following and paste it into your browser: https://www.youtube.com/@iwcinsantabarbara/streams
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Forum
Timeless Tales: Communal Bonds Through Storytelling
Saturday, May 10, 2025
4:00 PM (PDT) – A free event – open to all
In Person at Concord Hall, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA
Speaker wil join us via Zoom to give her talk and take questions from the audience
It will also be Webcast for those who cannot join in person (see details below)
Speaker: Margo McLoughlin
In world cultures East and West, stories have long been one of the primary tools for building a sense of shared identity and creating bonds of connection across time and space. In the early Buddhist tradition, the birth stories of the Buddha, known as the Jataka, depict the ethical dilemmas and life choices of the Bodhisattva on his journey to awakening. Over the centuries, in the Buddhist countries of southeast Asia, these stories have been told and retold, depicted in paintings, murals and comic books, recited at ceremonies and shared at bedtime with children. In this Institute Forum, Margo McLoughlin will share some reflections on the enduring power of the story-form and the Jataka as a means for creating a common understanding of how to live a generous life in harmony with the whole.
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Margo McLoughlin, who is joining us via Zoom in Concord Hall is a Canadian writer, storyteller and teacher. A graduate of the Harvard Divinity School, Margo leads retreats and teaches meditation in Victoria and other communities on Vancouver Island. Visit margostoryteller.net for more information. |
*Webcast begins at 4:00 PM (PDT). Click here to view the program. Our speaker will join us in Concord Hall, not in-person but via Zoom. She will take questions from the live audience in Concord Hall. A recording of the talk will be available after the program for future viewing at the same link.
If the link does not work, copy the following and paste it into your browser: https://www.youtube.com/@iwcinsantabarbara/streams
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Roundtable Discussion
Spiritual Values in Transformative Education
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
10:00 am - 12:00 noon (PDT) – A free event – open to all
In Person at Concord Hall, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA
Participants from Ukraine wil join us via Zoom
It will also be Webcast for those who cannot join in person (see details below)
Speakers:Kirk Gradin (Santa Barbara, CA) and two speakers from Ukraine
The Department of Culture, Tourism, Nationalities and Religions of the Dnipro Regional State Administration and the H.P. Blavatsyk Museum Centre in Dnipro, Ukraine offer an international roundtabke discussion on aspects and examples of preserving spiritual values in transformative education. The contributing role of the museum and challenges in the current world conflict will be addressed. One speaker from the US and two Ukranian speakers will each give a 20-25 minute presentation followed by questions and panel discussion.
Kirk Gradin, one of our three speakers, is a local Santa Barbara architect, illustrator and writer on topics of mystic philosophy, the arts and symbolism. He will discuss the enormous impact that H.P. Blavatsky had upon George William Russell, the much beloved writer, poet, mystic and educator who helped spark the Irish literary revival and growth of rural cooperation among the poor and oppressed in Ireland in the early 1900s.
Two speakers from the Ukraine will be introduced via Zoom.
*Webcast begins at 10:00 am (PDT). Click here to view the program. A recording of the event will be available for future viewing at the same link.
If the link does not work, copy the following and paste it into your browser: https://www.youtube.com/@iwcinsantabarbara/streams
Click here for a printer-friendly flyer to share with friends
Music Concert
Live Indian Classical Music Concert
Friday, May 23, 2025
5:00 pm (PDT) – A free event – open to all
In Person and Webcast (details below)*
Concord Hall, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA and
Webcast for those who cannot join in person (see details below)
Musicians:Ravi Chary (sitar) and Amit Kavthekar (tabla)
Renowned classical Indian musicians Ravi Chary and Amit Kavthekar offer a rousing, interactive improvisation reflecting the heart of classical Indian music.
Ravi Chary, a grammy-nominated sitar player, hails from Goa where his esteemed father was his music guru. Tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain also taught and inspired Ravi.
Amit Kavthekar, a groundbreaking Indian tabla player and disciple of Ustad Alla Rakha will accompany Chary. Kavthekar is a faculty member at the New England School of Musi
*Webcast begins at 5:00 PM (PDT). Click here to view the program. A recording of the talk will be available after the program for future viewing at the same link.
If the link does not work, copy the following and paste it into your browser: https://www.youtube.com/@iwcinsantabarbara/streams
Click here for a printer-friendly flyer to share with friends