Presenters

Nunzia Beltrametti-Tirelli
is a Certified Movement Analyst and a Practical Choreologist. She holds a Specialist Diploma in Choreological Studies from Trinity Laban in London, and an MA in “Ground Form” Authentic Movement from L’Agenzia Teatrale in Bologna, where she trained as a Dance Movement Therapist. Nunzia has danced in Switzerland and abroad and worked at the Teatro delle Radici in Lugano since 1990. Since 2002 she has been dedicated to continuing the legacy of Rudolf Laban and organized Laban events at Monte Verità from 2013 to 2019 (laban.ch). She is a winner of the Swiss Dance Heritage Prize and was a long-time member of the Swiss federal dance jury. She also is a Wabi Sabi mentor, Teacher of Shamanic and Integral/Japanese Yoga from Imaginal Academy.

Paul Bembridge, M.Phil.,
is a historian of Western esotericism who has presented at numerous Esoteric Quests, tracing the rich spiritual traditions within European literature. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, he has taught in several British universities, most notably alongside the late Professor Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke at the University of Exeter’s Centre for the Study of Esotericism. He trained originally as a medievalist at the University of York.

Riccardo Bernardini, Ph.D., Psy.D.,
serves as Scientific Secretary of the Eranos Foundation, for which he has worked for more than 20 years. He is also the editor of the Eranos-Jahrbücher series and the Founding President of the Institute of Analytical Psychology and Psychotherapy in Ivrea, Italy. He teaches the Psychology of Evil and Radicalization Processes at Turin University. His books include Jung at Eranos: The Complex Psychology Project, and Rebirth Symbols in the Basilica of San Miniato al Monte in Florence: From Joachim of Fiore to C.G. Jung.

Ludwig Max Fischer, Ph.D.,
is a German-born retired university professor who taught for many years at American universities. His academic disciplines range from teaching and research in the fields of language, ecolinguistics and European cultural history to intercultural communication and comparative mythology. Beyond his professional responsibilities and academic publications, he has developed over several decades an expertise in the history of naturopathic healing traditions, herbalism and the history of ecological and holistic philosophy. He has also translated and published two volumes of Hermann Hesse’s poetry, The Seasons of the Soul and The Seasons of Life.

Aaron French, Ph.D.,
received his doctorate in the study of religion, with a focus on Western esotericism. His monograph, Max Weber, Rudolf Steiner, and Modern Western Esotericism: A Transcultural Approach, was published by Routledge in March 2025. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Copenhagen. In addition, he has a long track-record as a writer and editor, with many years of experience working with NY Times bestselling authors and well-known figures in the film and art worlds.

Leonard George, Ph.D.,
is Faculty Emeritus of Psychology, Capilano University, now resident in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. In his long and non-linear career as an educator, psychologist, researcher, writer and broadcaster, he has given seminars and workshops around the world, and published dozens of articles and three books on a range of topics. His most recent book is Explorations in Music and Esotericism (University of Rochester Press, 2023), co-edited with Marjorie Roth. Leonard has served as a consultant and presenter for the Esoteric Quest for many years. He is drawn to anything that is vast, intricate or makes a mewing sound.

Joscelyn Godwin, Ph.D.,
is Professor of Music Emeritus at Colgate University. His many books on esoteric topics include Harmonies of Heaven and Earth, The Pagan Dream of the Renaissance, Atlantis and the Cycles of Time, and studies of Robert Fludd and Athanasius Kircher. His translations include the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, the works of Hans Kayser, and the writings of Gruppo di UR. He participated in the first Esoteric Quest in Český Krumlov in 1995 and most recently in the Portuguese Quest of 2023.

Daniel Levy
is an internationally-acclaimed concert pianist, an educator and creator of the method, Euphony: The Art of Listening. His programs focus on listening as an essential human resource, offering each participant the opportunity to explore the world of sound and music and its intimate relationship with our body, emotions, mind and intuition. He has performed in some of the most prestigious live venues in the world and made over 60 recordings. Inspired by Pythagoras, he composed a series of eight CDs entitled The Seven Tones of Balance and the Musical Ecology of the Mind. He is also the author of the book, Euphony: The Sound of Life, and director of the school of Euphony.

Christopher McIntosh, D.Phil.,
is a scholar of the Western Tradition and the author of many books including The Rose Cross and the Age of Reason; Beyond the North Wind; The Fall and Rise of the Mystic North and his latest work of nonfiction, Occult Russia: Pagan, Esoteric and Mystical Traditions. His fictional writing includes the short stories Master of the Starlit Grove and The Wyrde Garden.

Maria Prieto
is a curator, architect, artist, scholar, dancer and a somatic educator. With doctoral backgrounds from The University of Manchester and the California Institute of Integral Studies, her work combines esoteric studies with human experience and architectural practice. She focuses on (re)assembling the aesthetic, ethical and political dimensions of co-existence in a time of polycrisis. In 2024, she designed and curated two art installations, Cosmo-Alterity (Altered Images Festival, London), and The Praxis of Communitas (The University of Oxford).

Marjorie Roth, DMA, Ph.D.,
is a veteran of many Esoteric Quests since 1997. She is a professor in the School of Music at Nazareth University in Rochester, New York. She teaches courses in Music History, Music and Magic, Music and Gender, and Music as a Liberal Art. With her husband, Leonard George, she recently co-edited a collection of essays entitled Explorations in Music and Esotericism (University of Rochester Press, 2023). She is currently editing a collection of essays on the flute and enjoys playing the treble viol and bass flute.

Yuri Stoyanov, Ph.D.,
is based at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. His current assignments include visiting professorships at several universities; past assignments included the Directorship of the British Academy Kenyon Institute in Jerusalem. He has published widely on the interaction between mystical and esoteric currents in Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and their survival into the modern era. His publications include The Hidden Tradition in Europe, The Other God, Defenders and Enemies of the True Cross and the forthcoming, Fighting the Final Battle: Christian Ideologies of Apocalyptic Warfare.
Post-Conference Presenters
at the Goetheanum

Peter Selg
is director of the Ita Wegman Institute for Research into Anthroposophy in Arlesheim, Switzerland, and professor of medicine at the Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences. One of the leading writers today on the development and application of anthroposophy, he lectures extensively and is the author of many books including five volumes on the life and work of Rudolf Steiner. Other works include Rudolf Steiner as a Spiritual Teacher: From Recollections of Those Who Knew Him, and Rudolf Steiner and Christian Rosencreutz. He will give two presentations to the Quest at the Goetheanum.

Nathaniel Williams, Ph.D.,
grew up in the southeastern U.S., and studied painting, puppetry and anthroposophy in Switzerland and political theory at the University at Albany. He has worked as an artist and educator and developed programs for young people interested in exploring anthroposophy. Currently he is the leader of the “Section for the Spiritual Striving of the Youth”, an independent college dedicated to contemplative approaches to knowledge at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland.
The Quest Team

Ralph White
is the creator and director of the Esoteric Quest series of conferences and journeys, begun in 1995 in Bohemia. He is the director of the New Center for Holistic Learning NY, was co-creator of the New York Open Center, the city’s premier venue for spiritual and ecological consciousness for 38 years. Ralph also is the author of the memoir The Jeweled HIghway: On the Quest for a Life of Meaning, and edited and introduced The Rosicrucian Enlightenment Revisited, an anthology based on the first two conferences in this series. He lives in New York City.

Carrie Wykoff
has been the Conference Coordinator for the Esoteric Quest since 1998. She produces all types of events and the Quest is truly one of her favorites. She is also an Interfaith Minister, a musician, a fitness instructor and is the Event Production Coordinator for The Radio Kingston Community Tech Team. Civically minded, she serves as a Town Board Member for the Town of Rosendale, NY.

Andrea Lomanto
has worked with the Esoteric Quest since 2006. She is a puppetista and visual artist, working independently and collectively to support social justice movements. She also began the Power Up Youth Project, using public procession as a means for young people to creatively respond to issues of their choosing.