Ken Myers: Luther’s Artistic Legacy

The Eliot Society is thrilled to welcome back author and Mars Hill Audio founder Ken Myers this fall. In recognition of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, Ken will be lecturing on Martin Luther’s artistic legacy.
The common assumption about Martin Luther’s musical practices is that he ditched the entire musical treasury of Christendom in favor of cool pop tunes overheard in bars. This is far from the case. On the contrary, Luther reformed the tradition so as to create a climate in which some of the greatest composers of sacred choral music could subsequently thrive. Ken Myers will (with the help of some local musicians) examine some of those figures (including Heinrich Schütz, J. S. Bach, and Felix Mendelssohn) in light of Luther’s principles. The lecture will argue that the pattern of Luther’s artistic engagement provides a model for contemporary efforts to reconnect faith and the arts.
About Ken Myers
Since 1993, Ken Myers has served as the host and producer of the MARS HILL AUDIO Journal, a bimonthly audio magazine that examines the shape of contemporary culture in light of historic Christian belief. He was formerly the editor of This World: A Journal of Religion and Public Life, a quarterly journal whose editor-in-chief was Richard John Neuhaus. Prior to his tenure at This World, he was executive editor of Eternity, the Evangelical monthly magazine. Myers is a graduate of the University of Maryland, where he studied film theory and criticism, and of Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia.