Lyre Activity in the Triform Camphill Community, Hudson, NY

Akiko playing for members of a music class at Triform

By Akiko Suesada, Triform Camphill Community, Hudson, NY

I am not fluent in speaking or writing in English, but I thought for the first time maybe it would be good to write whatever I can so that more people would know that there is a small activity happening in Triform as a part of the larger movement of the lyre. Triform itself has had many people who have brought this impulse throughout its 40-year biography.

I have been living and working in Triform Camphill community for the last 21 years. Following my previous experiences in Japan, I have been blessed with many opportunities to play the lyre for various occasions such as the festivals, musical offerings, the services, plays, classes, and for the therapy sessions after I completed the Dorian School of Music Therapy. Here are a few examples of what usually happens at this time of the year:

I have been able to create and play music for the Advent Garden for many years. Together with my colleague, we start by preparing the double spiral. We cut and place the evergreens, crystals, shells, horns, and bones. We polish the apples and set the candles. Breathing into the fragrance of evergreens, apples, and beeswax candles always helps me to tune into the mood of Advent. Each step of the preparation that leads to the lyre playing for the Advent Garden is important. Each year I feel very renewed and re-inspired by this activity. It has been personally very significant to keep this flame alive for Triform as a Camphill community and for the children — our future. We have been blessed to have some children each year, and others who join from the local community. My 15-year-old daughter still plays the role of the angel. Though some of the schools/kindergartens don't use lyre music for their Advent gardens, I will continue to do so as long as I can.

I also hold a music class two afternoons a week for our young adults with special needs. For the last 2-3 years, I have been playing the lyre for about 15 minutes at the very beginning of one of the groups. This came about after I noticed some of the newer students had a hard time settling into the quietness of the surroundings and the self. This is a class of 10-13 students with different abilities.

When I first started, it could not last this long. It took a while for everyone to be able to listen fully. By continuing week after week (without any verbal prompting, but only by listening), they became able to listen more deeply into the tones, melodies, and the subtle sound of the lyre that also helped them settle in more comfortably with themselves. Nowadays, they would be able to listen for a much longer period if I kept playing. I feel the atmosphere of the class has changed, and their breathing as well as their relationships to each other have transformed. Their responses to each other keep changing and growing. I feel something has opened up for them. When we sing songs, I only accompany with the lyre for this particular group.

I give individual therapy sessions once a week. I would need a separate occasion to describe more, but let me say that the lyre plays a major part in almost every session. Three out of four individuals are mostly nonverbal, and yet I feel there is so much musical communication taking place within the special sphere the lyre sound can create. It has been almost 30 years since I started to play the lyre. It has been my long-term friend, colleague, therapist, and teacher throughout.

I write this with greatest appreciation for the founders of this special instrument and those who have kept this impulse alive — especially the teachers who taught me and guided me so much.