Music and Masons
Music has a significant place in Masonic philosophy and ritual as one of the seven liberal arts and it has always featured prominently in Freemasonry.
It is therefore quite fitting that there have been, and are, many musicians in Freemasonry.
Here are some musicians who were/are Freemasons. We will add more names and links to these names over time.
Classical Music
- Johann Christian BACH (1735-1782) Lodge of Nine Muses No. 235, London, U.K.
- Francesco GEMINIANI (1687-1762) Philo-musicae et -architecturae societas Apollini, London
- Franz Joseph HAYDN (1732-1809)
- Leopold KOZELUCH (1747-1818)
- Franz LISZT (1811-1886) lodge Zur Einigkeit, Frankfort-on the-Main and lodge Zur Eintracht, Berlin
- Felix MENDELSSOHN (Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy) (1809-1847)
- Leopold MOZART (1719-1787)
- Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART
- Jean SIBELIUS (1865-1957) Suami Lodge No. 1, Helsinki, Finland
Here are some links to more information on Freemasonry and classical music:
- Doctoral Thesis on “The Musical Culture of Freemasonry in Early Eighteenth-Century London“
- Article on “Jean Sibelius and the Music for the Masonic Lodge“
See our page on Solomon Oratorios by Georg Friedrich Handel, William Boyce and Richard Broadway, based on “The Musical Culture of Freemasonry in Early Eighteenth-Century London”
Jazz
- Count BASIE (1904-1984)
- Nat “King” COLE
- Duke ELLINGTON
- Al JOLSON – St. Cecile Lodge No. 568, Grand Lodge of New York
- Oscar PETERSON
- Paul WHITEMAN – St. Cecile Lodge No. 568, Grand Lodge of New York
Here is a longer list of jazz musicians who were Freemasons along with some notes on jazz musical theory and connections to Masonic philosophy (note: PDF)
We also came across this webpage about jazz musicians and Freemasonry written by someone with no first hand knowledge of the Craft.
Blues
- W.C. HANDY
- Howlin’ Wolf (Chester Arthur Burnett)
- Mississippi Fred McDOWELL (1904-1972)
- Sunnyland Slim (1906-1995)
Country
- Eddy ARNOLD, (1918-2008), East Nashville Lodge No. 560, East Nashville, Tennessee.
- Roy CLARK, Jenks Lodge No. 497, Jenks, Oklahoma and Akdar Shrine, Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Jimmie RODGERS (1897-1933) – John L. Spinks Lodge, No. 507, Meridian, Mississippi – Grand Lodge of Mississippi.
Popular Music / Show Music
- Irving BERLIN (1888-1989) Munn Lodge No. 190, New York
- George GERSHWIN
- William S. GILBERT (1836-1911) Lodge St. Machar No. 54, Aberdeen, Scotland
- John Philip SOUSA (1854-1932) Hiram Lodge No. 10, Washington, D.C.
- Arthur Seymour SULLIVAN (1842-1900)
Rock
- Lionel RICHIE – Lewis Adams Lodge No. 67, Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Alabama
- Rick WAKEMAN (Chelsea Lodge, No. 3098, London, U.K.)
- Matt Hoyles is a Vancouver based musician who is a member of a Masonic Lodge in Vancouver, B.C.
- Tom Delonge (formerly of Blink 182) – there are unconfirmed reports that he was Initiated in Widow’s Son Lodge, No. 17 in Kansas City. We are treating these reports as unconfirmed at this time.
- Moka Only ( is a member of a Masonic Lodge in Vancouver, B.C.)
Also see our page on Hip Hop and Freemasonry.
Freemasonry and the Vancouver Music Scene
We are aware of the following Vancouver based musicians who are active Freemasons in Vancouver, B.C.
Related Topics
- Grand Lodge of B.C. & Yukon page on Masonic References in Music
- English Masonic Lodges, Pipe Organs and National Heritage, Andrew Pink, 2007 [note: PDF]
- The Musical Culture of Freemasonry in Early Eighteenth-Century London, Doctoral Thesis
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