Children's Camp in Shenyang, China

By Veronika Roemer

In late July, Channa Seidenberg and I flew to Shenyang, China to teach at a music conference organized by Pan Kai, whom we met at last year’s International Lyre Conference in Detroit. The conference took place at a Waldorf School on the outskirts of Shenyang. The school is set beautifully amid the hills, surrounded by vegetable gardens and forest. A little beyond the school, the first high-rise buildings of the city can be seen, but otherwise one feels like being in the countryside. The school building was well suited for the conference, with large and small classrooms and a large kitchen where our delicious meals were prepared every day. I was placed with 30 children, ages 6 to 12, far enough away from the adults that we could do as we liked.

The program was held over two five-day blocks with one day off in between. This rhythm was a bit of a challenge to get into. We had to keep reminding each other what day of the week it was. I had brought as many of my instruments as possible: gongs, iron and bronze rods, triangle and cymbals, a pentatonic metallophon, small bells, about 12 pairs of wooden sticks, plus my viola. I also collected about 30 pairs of nicely-ringing small stones in the playground of the school. I had been given two translators/classroom helpers, wonderful young adults who were both planning to become Waldorf teachers. Not only did they speak very good English, they were also incredibly helpful with the children, understanding very quickly what I was trying to do and supporting me as best they could.

On Monday morning we started. For the first 30 minutes we sang songs and did rhythm games. Then the children were split into two groups, ages 6 to 8 and 9 to 12. As I worked with one group, the other group went outside for a Kung Fu lesson. During the morning periods we did mostly listening and movement work (like Par Ahlbom teaches, and as it is described beautifully by Reinhild Brass in her book Discovering Ways of Listening, which I am in the process of translating). First we played children’s lyres, and then we did improvisational work with the instruments and lots of rhythmical games.

I had prepared material where language or musical background wouldn’t matter much. Songs and rounds had very few words (hard to find), and a few songs were well suited for dancing. The children learned the songs amazingly fast. They were also very good at rhythm. Rounds and singing in parts were much harder, especially for the younger children, but they enjoyed the challenge and savored it when it finally worked.

Movement didn’t come easily to the children. They tended to walk heavily and drag their feet rather than move with the sound and playing-gesture of a lyre or gong. It was a great joy to me when, during the second five-­day block, some of the children suddenly started to move better; more flowingly, gracefully, lighter. Their listening deepened, too, and became more sensitive. It showed in their greater care in playing, particularly the gongs, and in their reactions when a child played too hard.

Every afternoon at 4:00 pm, we met to sing once more for about an hour to conclude the day. In the afternoons I also worked for an hour, alternating between two groups of about 25 special needs children: one, a group of 9- to 12-year-olds; the other, 6- to 8-year-olds. Each group had a number of aids. We did a lot of rhythm games, singing, dancing, and “orchestra” – groups of children had different kinds of instruments like bells, wooden sticks, stones, triangle and cymbals. I would either conduct the groups to play as I moved my hands (strong, soft, fast slow), or I would stand in front of the group that was to play as I improvised on my pentatonic flute.

Looking back, I’m amazed at how much happened during those two five-day blocks. The first day after the break was difficult. The children seemed tired, out of rhythm, needing to reconnect to the music work we had done before. But from the second day on, things began to move. Children started volunteering to play their favorite games and instruments. They came out of themselves a bit more in their individualities. Some of the younger ones started showing me affection. I could feel a difference, too, in the older ones. We were beginning to get to know each other pretty well.

On the last day there was a final presentation. The children sang a few songs. The younger ones showed a lyre game with movement; the older ones, an African song with movement and clapping, and a song by Colin Tanser for two lyres, with the simple lyre part being played by four children with gongs. At the end, all the conference participants sang a prayer for peace in Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew and English in a four-part round. The children started with a short instrumental introduction then sang the first part. Then Channa conducted the adults in singing the remaining three parts. I watched the children as the round grew. Their faces showed surprise, wonder, and awe at the growing sound and harmonic richness of the round. It was a tremendous gift for them to be embedded in such a way in the adult community.

After the music camp ended, I joined the painting course by singing with them for 50 minutes every morning for another five-day block. Channa had been teaching them while I was teaching the children in the music camp. This was the first time I was given so much time for music in a non­music course. It was fabulous. We did so much in this time that it allowed the participants to have really deep musical experiences. They sang well; much better than I generally meet among non­musicians. We started with the tone of the day and went from there into simple guided improvisations. They learned several rounds, a two­part song, and we continued working on “Halleluja”, by Arvo Part, which they had started with Channa. This was difficult for them. Interestingly, they had a hard time with the interval of the second. They would tend to slip either into the third or the prime. But they kept working hard, and on the last day they managed the first three bars of the song in two parts, with perfect seconds.

It was a very rich and inspiring time for me. It was the first time I had a group of children over a period of so many days in such an intensive teaching situation. I treasured having the opportunity to work with them out of Par Ahlbom’s and Reinhild Brass’s impulses, and I hope to have such opportunities here, in the U.S., too. I found the Chinese incredibly warm, friendly, helpful and accommodating – to the point where I would be very careful not to say anything that might sound like a complaint or need, because they would immediately try to remedy the situation for me. A good lesson to learn!

First Brazilian Nacional Lyre and Kânteles Conference

by Karla Polanczyk and Flavia Betti Souza

The first Brazilian conference for lyres and kânteles took place at Cântaro in early September 2016. It was organized by "Círculo Musical Association,” together with Cântaro, in Belo Horizonte. Círculo Musical is an association that brings together musicians, music teachers, and professionals who in some way have their work outlined in music. We had 38 lyre and kantele players, and seven music teachers who offered some musical activity or presented their work. We had people from at least seven different Brazilian cities, from the very southern part to northeastern Brazil.

We had a wonderful opening lyre concert. A group of thirteen 8- to 13-year-old children opened the concert, and they were followed by the Cantaro Lyre Group, with 25 lyres and kanteles.

Among the themes, we explored:

* Therapeutic lyre approach in a Palliative Treatment Center
* How to introduce the kantele to small children
* Pentatonic compositions from observing movement in children (from 0 to 7 years old)
* The fifth environment: Pentatonic music education in Waldorf schools
* Kantele tuning: Exploring other scales and tuning systems.

We had, of course, a very special time dedicated to playing together each day – the lyre and kantele orchestra – in the morning and late afternoon.

It was a very special opportunity for those who work alone in their school, in their city, to know and meet diferent lyre players, and also share their work and experiences. Brazil is a very big country, and we don´t have many opportunities of meeting our friends, other lyre players, and teachers.

August Weeks in Shenyang, China

by Channa Seidenberg, Philmont, NY

You may remember at last year’s International Lyre Conference in Detroit that we had Pan Kai as a participant from China, who was already well known to a number of people in Europe. I received an invitation from him to come and teach at a music course in China.

He had met and worked with Reinhild Brass, a well-known musician and teacher from Germany, and together they had a vision of creating a training model based on the “Freie Musik Schule”, which had its initiation in the 1970’s. Its aim was to have students travel to the teachers and gather their experiences through working alongside their mentors. Julius Knierim, Per Ahlbom, Christof-Andreas Lindenberg, Lothar Reubke, Jurgen Schriefer, and many others were involved in this initiative. This summer the “Freie Musik Schule China” was established.

That the format needed to be very different from the “original” is understandable, in that in China the students would have to travel to a center, and the teachers would have to come from abroad. Originally, the course would leave the student free to choose their own path, either in teaching in a Waldorf School, becoming a music therapist, working with music in community, or establishing a path toward performance, or a combination of all of these. The Chinese training is also aiming to guide a number of participants toward teaching music in Waldorf Schools but, in addition, to helping parents guide their children on their musical paths.

In our course we had 83 participants, approximately 35 who want to teach, and the remainder, parents of young children. The children were also there and had their own “music camp” with Veronika Roemer. As you can imagine, it was a lively and creative undertaking!

Reinhild Brass has developed an excellent method for learning how to listen. Her book, ”Horwege Entdecken” (Discovering Paths of Hearing) is being translated by Veronika. It is about to be published in Chinese, and will be rendered in Italian very soon.

Her work is underlying a new direction in the schooling in China, and rightly so, as public education in that part of the world is based very strongly in an intellectual direction, and inner listening is a fairly new concept. The lyre is, of course, an important instrument for this new direction. Everyone was guided on the kinderharp. We worked with gongs, iron rods, and many other instruments for sounding and improvisation.

I was asked to create a “lyre orchestra,” to prepare for an evening of sharing. Nine very gifted players gathered after supper to rehearse a number of pieces, which we played on the evening of sharing.

I had also been asked to lead singing and to begin a path to Uncovering the Voice. I could say much about the course but want to instead express my impression of the human connections I experienced.

So much needs to be acknowledged of the generosity and heart warmth I encountered. Everywhere there was the longing to connect, to learn, and to share. I am deeply grateful for having been able to get to know musicians from across the world who are also searching for the deeper experience in listening.

How the Lyre Came Down from Heaven Just in Time!

By Christof-Andreas Lindenberg

Ninety years ago, experimenting with music had its hey-day in Germany. What in 1926 had built up to an ever greater tone density, amplification, and also acoustical electronics getting ever louder, was like sounds from the underworld that had been bidden to the table of seriously minded attempts of advancement in music. (See Soundings Vol. 1, No. 1, Autumn 2007.)

Yet far away from this booming world, the unassuming, humble lyre tone – as though sent by a merciful heaven, and that at Michaelmas time – was making its voice heard for the first time.

The lyre was created in one night. And like out of the night, when the sound ether is allowed to work in silence, this unheard of instrument has the unique bonus of being brought forth out of stillness, out of night. It was clad with wood connected to the planet Mercury, from the elm tree, (I assume it was the red elm. –CAL) making the top and bottom soundboard, and the cherry wood connected to the Moon served for making the framing. Both pieces were left over bits from wood used for mighty pillars. Mercury relates to movement, the moon to constant change. Is this not reminding one of music therapy?

Not long before – three and a quarter years – those 26 pillars had still been carrying the double cupolas of the first Goetheanum that burned down, by arsen, in the New Year’s night 1922-23. From that time on, volunteer watchmen were asked to guard the grounds around the site.

Among the watchmen were a musician, Edmund Pracht, and the sculptor and woodworker, Lothar Gärtner. They met and shared from their different vantage points about what moved in their souls. Neither of the two young men knew that already in 1912 Rudolf Steiner had spoken about a kind of lyra that would be more suitable for Tone Eurythmy than the piano. Tatiana Kisseleff tells in her Memories of Rudolf Steiner about this, and that Rudolf Steiner himself wanted to help build such a lyra. As Julius Knierim remarks (Hollander/Rebbe, Die Leier, Verlag am Goetheanum, 1996), World War One came, and this impulse was never taken up.

Edmund Pracht, who played piano for Eurythmy lessons for special needs children at the Sonnenhof, Arlesheim, was not sure the piano was the right instrument for the lessons. He sat down to meditate on what of the piano could be dispensed with, and in the end was left with a frame and strings. (For this reason John Clark calls his Irish lyre group the Naked Piano!) Something similar occurred when he was asked by a eurythmist what Rudolf Steiner meant in 1923 by the “mood of the fifths.” Explaining to her on a blackboard, he mentioned the tones g, d, a, e, b, making a stroke for each, and then, as if by the way, he drew a bow-curve around these vertical strokes, something like this:

He looked at what he had just drawn on the blackboard and said: Is that not like an archetypal music instrument what I have drawn here!

Following these events, by the beginning of the fall 1926, he drew a design of such an instrument, but strictly asymmetric and having corners. This drawing he sent to a violin builder in Basel who, in time,

was willing to build such an instrument. He must have shared this with Lothar Gärtner who then sat down on September 24 to make a design of an instrument, but it was all round, very large and mighty, and he wanted to carve this later.

Then Edmund and Lothar had what is described as a “classical” conversation about the cornered or round form of such an instrument (wish I had been there!). The initiatives just described were, however, more provisional, yet Gärtner says, they both were fulfilled later in the month – Pracht’s design built by the violin builder and Gärtner’s mighty design beautifully carved.

The actual story of the creation of the first “Leier” begins here, as I heard it from Gärtner and Pracht directly. W. Lothar Gärtner, full of initiative, brought along Edmund Pracht’s design and, having altered it a little, went with it to the big joinery shop in which, almost three years before, the Christmas Foundation Meeting had taken place! He found two pieces of thin elm wood for the sound boards, some pieces of cherry wood for making the frame, and a short piece of an iron rod from a bundle that would serve as armature used in the concrete for the new Goetheanum building. And he worked all night. At the crack of dawn he asked his friend Edmund for the pegs and the strings from an old zither he had used for sound experiments. By 9:00 a.m. when Edmund returned from his watch, Lothar could hand over to him the instrument.

“Sie tőnt!” was the cry of joy echoing in that history-laden joinery shop. With that exclamation – “it sounds!” – they hurried to four older friends, Elena Zuccoli, Käthe Mitcher, Max Gűmbel-Seiling and Tatiana Kisseleff, who had surely been confirmed about what Rudolf Steiner hinted to her in 1912. Then in the afternoon Edmund showed it to Ita Wegman who had known of their plans and supported their endeavor, and later also to Elisabeth Vreede, who became the other godmother of the lyre.

Yes, now it was right to speak out the name, not just coined from the Greek Lyre. Yes, all this was on October 6, a Wednesday – I looked it up – which we now celebrate 90 years on.

The first “Mercury – Moon – Mars Lyre” that brought the new tone out of the stillness:
* giving it inner mobility ☿
* open to change and development ☽
* and with upright strength, the michaelic rod of iron ♂

Many thousands of lyres, it is true, have since been built in round and cornered shapes; uncountable versions have been developed, and still they belong to the original lyre impulse. A whole wealth of new instruments has arisen in the wake of the humble kinderlyre, built on October 6, 1926, with just twelve strings.

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Activities of the Kimberton Lyre Group

By Kerry V. Lee

The activities of a lyre group can be so diverse, and then they can also be very similar in so many ways. We, of course, do what so many lyre groups across the country do, that is, the Rose Ceremony at the beginning of the school year. The seniors greet the new first graders and become their buddies, giving each a rose, while the lyrists play beautiful music fitting to the occasion. We also play at the end of the school year for the Rose Ceremony, where the first graders wish the seniors farewell by giving each of them a rose. We are joined by a bass recorder, which sounds beautiful with the lyres, and a side flute for these occasions. We also play for the Advent Garden the first Sunday of Advent, another occasion loved by each of us.

Members of our ensemble look forward to these yearly opportunities to play, not because of our varied connections to the Waldorf School, past and present, but out of the love of the lyre and what it brings to these festivals. We have become so in tune with each other that we begin to breathe in the music together. What a wonderful feeling when we make tempo changes in exactly the same way. Of course it means practicing together weekly for years.

Our group also does things that might be different from other groups. Each year our Threshold group has a workshop, and the lyre group accompanies the ending, bringing a very beautiful and wonderful atmosphere. We have played for our local Time Bank’s annual meeting, which was well received. We take our lyres to someone who is ill, in the hospital, or at home in the dying process. Some of us play for the Christian Community services. Our group uses the "12 Fifth" tuning otherwise known as Maria Renold tuning. We all are very happy with this tuning as the pure fifth sound really brings a freeing feeling that makes one want to take a deep breath when you are tuning and get it right.

Wishing all of you lots of fun with your lyre! -Kerry

LifeWays Training

By Kerry Lee, Kimberton, Pennsylvania

I had the honor of being part of the LifeWays training in the Kimberton, PA area, with 24 enthusiastic students. LifeWays is a training that offers an alternative to pre-school teaching, creating a home setting instead of a school setting for the preschool child. Founder Cynthia Aldinger is enthusiastic about including “Uncovering the Voice” and “Mood of the Fifth” as part of the musical training for the students.

We met five different times in the year ranging from one to two weeks. Music was a part of every session but one. In the “Uncovering of the Voice” sessions, I introduced exercises including all parts of the body, from the head to the feet. We also sang lovely songs in unison and in parts, did rhythms with our hands and feet, along with circle action games and more. When I asked how the singing exercises had helped them, a number of students commented on how it helped to raise their voice to a higher level, and how the exercises “loosened” their voices to be able to sing better. I was able to work individually with those who had difficulty with pitch and singing “on key.”

We used the pentatonic lyre as instrument of choice for “Mood of the Fifth” songs and games. We learned how to play and tune the lyre and how to write songs, and we discovered the mystery behind the “mood of the fifth.” Each participant had to write her own song by the end of the course. Together they prepared end-of-session celebrations for the children and their families, and they always included the lyre as part of each celebration, usually as the children walked in to sit down or during the puppet show.

The students were a joy to work with, and it was a great preparation for my trip to China, where I taught similar things in November of 2015!

Lyre Conference in the Czech Republic

The beautiful town of Cesky Krumlov

By Sarah Stosiek

This summer I spent an amazing week in the beautiful town of Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic participating in the Lyre Conference organized by Jan Braunstein and Helena Bartosova! The week was filled with workshops and lyre groups, as well as time to explore the town and castle which boasted a bear in the moat, plus evening music sharings, a street performance and a final concert given to the public to cap it all off! Playing the lyre with other people is enjoyable no matter what, but this conference was extra special. As a group of about 25 we learned Czech folk songs, improvised, shared music, learned new techniques and struggled to piece together Pachelbel's Chaconne until we were successful. It truly was a wonderful experience, and I look forward to many similar conferences in the future!

Lyre Conference organized by Jan Braunstein and Helena Bartosova

2016 Summer Conference

Movement for Musical Renewal in Hadley, Massachusetts

How Does the Tone of the Lyre Move in Us?
Awakening to the Inner and Outer Relationship of Movement and the "Freed Tone"

This summer LANA is offering a conference out of the Movement for Musical Renewal and designed to unite our lyre work with other artistic impulses inspired by the indications of Rudolf Steiner. We are very pleased to be turning to the relationship between the lyre and movement. In addition to lyrists, it is our hope for this conference to reach out to all those who are drawn to or working with a deepened experience of TONE, including other instrumentalists, singers, eurythmists, spacial dynamics practitioners, artistic therapists, Waldorf music teachers, and parents. 

Eurythmy with Karen Derreumaux:  "How the Tone sounding from the Lyre ignites our Inner Life Movements."  In our eurythmy sessions we shall explore how the movements arise out of our engagement with the Tone from the Lyre. 

Spacial Dynamics with Catherine Decker:  As musicians and listeners, we accompany a musical tone or interval inwardly as it evolves and transforms. This vital, yet unseen movement is the experience of deep and vital resonance. With the support of Spacial dynamic streams and exercises, we will explore our relationship to the space around our physical bodies and the spaces we encounter in the lyre music.

The Setting:  Hartsbrook is a Waldorf school located in the fertile Connecticut River Valley in the region of western Massachusetts known as the Pioneer Valley. It is a prestigious center for higher learning, with five colleges within a ten mile radius. The town of Hadley, situated in Hampshire County, was founded in 1661 and is one of the oldest settlements in Massachusetts with countless relics of the past, including colonial homes and museums in a setting of lush farmland, rolling hills, and old cemeteries. We are very happy to have the opportunity this summer to bring our collective sounding of the modern lyre into such a rich area of our American history! 

The cost to attend the conference is $225 for LANA members and $275 for non-members, if registered by June 5. After that date the cost is $275 and $325. Per diem rates and meal packages are available, along with affordable lodging options in a college dormitory or private homes. A list of nearby hotel options is available on request.

Please plan to join us in Hadley, Massachusetts July 5-9 for LANA's 2016 Summer Musical Renewal Conference! For more information, call 518-672-4389 or email lyrists@gmail.com.

• To register, go to:   http://lyre2016.bpt.me
• Conference Schedule:  http://bit.ly/1VLk5Ix
• To apply for financial aid, go to: http://bit.ly/1sx05GO
• If you live in or near Hadley, MA, and can offer lodging to a conference participant, please go to: http://bit.ly/1SclHuv

Early Bird deadline May 31!

Registration open! Summer Musical Renewal Conference, July 5-9, Hadley, MA

Go to: http://p0.vresp.com/wGQBsj #vr4smallbiz

Barbara Patterson, Ghent, NY

Every morning at 8 am, I sit in the hall of our independent living home in Ghent, NY with my lyre and play the tone of the day and the mirrored scale.  This also includes the fifth of the tone played up and down the octaves of my lyre.   Usually some residents of our house gather at 8 o’ clock to hear the sounding of the lyre.  The "activities in the life of the soul”– from Guidance in Esoteric Training, as well as the words of the Eightfold Path – are also brought for all of us to be aware of during the unfolding of our day.  Thus another day begins in Magnolia House at Camphill Ghent.

Twice a month, two friends come and join me in playing lyre together.  These friends have each owned lyres for a long time, but recently they had not been playing them very often. Now we are enjoying learning and playing together.  

I am also using my soprano lyre as part of an educational support class with a student from the Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School who has been diagnosed with autism.  He responds to music, and, particularly when listening to the lyre, this boy becomes very calm and ready to go on with his lesson.  Again and again, I experience the healing effects of the sounding of the lyre.

Diane Barnes, Connecticut

Activities with the Lyre:
The lyre continues to be active at the Housatonic Valley Waldorf School in Newtown, Connecticut, with the lower grades learning the kinderharp, and upper grades students playing the bordun lyres. The children use  the Bleffert iron rods and gongs, as well.  We were very grateful to have John Billing come and play for the students and parents last September. I play the lyre for the Madonna Series presented each year to the students during Advent, and I also make an extra trip down to play for the school's Advent Garden.  The lyre truly helps all who hear it to listen in a new way.

There are several lyre players in the Hudson, Harlemville, Valatie, and Hillsdale areas of New York.  Some of us take turns playing at the Christian Community on Sundays, as do other instrumentalists.  In my corner I have played my alto lyre and sung at the Pumpkin Festival.  I have now played and sung at two Nursing/Adult homes in the area thus far in 2016, and am looking for other such opportunities.  On January 30th, I gave a metal instrument workshop, which included playing bordun lyres.  We saw and heard how the threefold human being is represented and nurtured by these instruments.  The feedback has been very positive. My hope is for more people to learn to play them and sound them out, drawing more people into our work.
With wishes for lyrists working more often together – Diane

Children's Camp in China

By Veronika Roemer, Lehighton, PA - vbrtnstn@gmail.com

Music With Young Children – Last autumn, I was part of a homeschooling initiative, a group of six families with a total of twelve children aged 18 months to 12 years old. The group met one day a week for eight weeks.  There was strong interest in Waldorf education and related topics among the mothers.  They met at the end of each school day for a session with the main teacher to discuss child raising questions. I had the great fortune to make music with them all. This was a unique and new learning experience for me.  I had never before taught music to preschool children or to mixed age groups.  The school-aged children were a familiar age group from teaching instrumental lessons.  We did a lot of singing and instrumental playing, like the youth group at the lyre conference last summer in Detroit.

But little ones – that was something completely new.  It was a small group, seven children including the 18 month-old.  All the mothers and the Kindergarten teacher participated, too, which was wonderful, as one or more children were often missing.  I used pentatonic and mood of the fifth songs, pentatonic and bordun lyres, iron and copper rods, gongs, triangle and cymbals, drums, and my solo lyre. I attempted to adjust to this particular age group the games I had learned from Par Ahlbom, and also new ideas I gained from a fantastic book by Reinhild Brass: “Discovering Ways/Paths of Listening.” (This book is only in German, as far as I know, and needs to be translated).  

The children enjoyed the instruments (and so did the mothers, I think, even more so than the children). Sometimes they could hardly wait to play them!  Every child had opportunities to play every instrument, and some made a strong connection with the one or the other. Towards the end of the eight sessions, I noticed a big difference in one child who initially didn’t have enough inner quiet to listen to the resounding of a rod or gong and never lasted until the end of the session (about 20 minutes), but walked away or declared she was hungry.  Now she had become much quieter, participated with the group, and stayed to the end.  But the biggest gift was to hear her sing strongly and confidently with a clear, pure, high voice.  

Channa A. Seidenberg, Philmont, New York

Honoring Colin Tanser

In late February, the Camphill Village Ensemble will pay tribute to Colin Tanser, who has been ill for some time. He is one of our most beloved composers of music for the lyre, and we will honor him by presenting Colin’s "Everyman."  This piece was originally written for the International Lyre Conference in Belfast in 2006.

As part of the tribute, we will sing the "Thornbury Days" songs, selections from "Circle of Songs" and "Star-wished Night." Colin's wife, Jennie, wrote many of the words to Colin's vocal music. In addition, there will be lyre pieces from the "Heart's Reply." A member of our Camphill Village Lyre Group will speak about Colin and his many contributions over the years.

Thank you, Colin, for your gifts to us!

Andrea Lyman: Waldorf Music Teacher Training in China

After many months of planning, I had the opportunity in January to travel to Shenzhen, China to present the first session of a full Waldorf music teacher training.   This 3-year program will meet twice a year with sessions running for ten consecutive days in January and October, totaling 360 hours of class time. This comprehensive program will include an in-depth study of anthroposophy, child development, self-transformation of the individual, eurythmy, the arts, movement, the full music curriculum and pedagogy, and more!  As director of this program, I taught the entire first session, but as it continues in the future, the program will include other faculty.

Our first group of students consisted of 23 teachers, musicians, and parents who were eager to learn and know more about Waldorf music education. Students came from all over China, including the northern provinces and Hong Kong. Shenzhen is right on the tip of south China, across Victoria Harbor from Hong Kong, so it has easy access to transportation and cosmopolitan businesses and trade. It is a modern city that is only 30 years old and was created and developed as a high-tech, ‘Silicon Valley’ type of city with industries such as Apple iPhone manufacturing and other large high-tech companies. Surrounded by the water on one side and green hills on the other, the air quality in Shenzhen is quite good for China, and even though it is a young city, it already has 20 million inhabitants!

After only ten years, Waldorf education is growing in China at a wildfire rate!  There are currently 300 kindergartens, ten grade schools, and one high school in China. While technically not legal, these independent schools are being allowed to exist and are being ‘watched’ by the government to see the results. Those involved in the creation of these schools strongly recognize that in order for Waldorf education to flourish and survive into the future, there must be a deep foundation in the understanding of what stands behind this educational approach. There is a high demand for Waldorf schools in China, but because it is so new, it has been a challenge to find enough trained teachers; therefore, teacher-training possibilities are crucial. This is the first comprehensive Waldorf music teacher training in China and one of very few in the world at this time.

Included in our first 10-day session in Shenzhen was an introduction to the 7-string pentatonic children’s lyre. I had carefully packed my Choroi kinderharp in my suitcase, which led to some interesting customs experiences on my journey to Asia.  Several of the security personnel insisted I open the case and play this strange little instrument that they could not identify with the x-ray machines! I would have loved to have had a photo of the agents looking, listening, touching, and smiling at this fascinating, musical oddity! This was my first but not last experience of how eager the people of Asia are to learn about ‘all things Waldorf’ and receive it with full hearts and minds.

At the end of the course in Shenzhen, I flew directly to Manila/Quezon City in the Philippines. While not new in the Philippines, Waldorf education has only been supported by occasional presenters coming to give workshops or short courses. There have been mentions of music in the Waldorf curriculum in other workshops but never any kind of dedicated course such as this. I had been invited to give a five-day (two module) Waldorf music course – the first ever in the Philippines. The first module of two days was a general overview of what music is, why it is important to the human being, how it meets the developing child, and the basic spectrum of the music curriculum in Waldorf education. Many parents and mainstream music teachers were in attendance. The second module went more deeply into the curriculum and pedagogy and included many experiential activities. In all, there were 35 participants from all over the Philippine islands in addition to an anthroposophical doctor from India and a new Waldorf music teacher from Singapore.

The day before I began the course in Manila, I was able to visit one of the Waldorf schools in the local area, and I met a woodwork teacher who showed me a pentatonic lyre that he had made. We had some discussion about certain characteristics and qualities of a well made, pedagogically sound lyre – a conversation I know will continue and hopefully support healthy lyre work with Waldorf students in this country. There is great interest in the lyre in this part of the world, and I look forward to seeing it develop and grow.

In July, I will be traveling to another part of China to bring music education to an existing Waldorf teacher-training program there. How wonderful it is to see such enthusiasm and earnest striving to nurture and support an educational model that meets children so beautifully.  It is also inspiring to observe how the devoted parents everywhere are willing to do whatever it takes to bring what they feel is right and good for their beloved children – even if it means going against the social and political contexts in which they live. No matter where in the world I have traveled and visited Waldorf schools, the essence of reverence and beauty permeates every school with the same sense of conscious commitment and steadfast striving that will carry the light of Waldorf education into the future. What a privilege and joy it is to be a part of this worthy contribution to the evolution of humanity!

Pan Kai: China Pictures and Story

This is an update on some lyre activities in China. [SEE SLIDE SHOW]
In November 2015, Susanne Heinz and I gave six lyre concerts throughout China, from northern to southern parts of the country.  My friend Dina played cello with us in South China. After the concert I started teaching children and adults again in Beijing. We had much happiness and love during the course.

In 2016, we will study the kinder lyre and then study chromatic lyre to use after 4th grade.  In August of 2016, Channa Seidenberg from the U.S. and Reinhild Brass from Germany will join us to support this work in Shenyang. 

Akiyo Lambert-Kai: "Peaceful Lyre" Workshops

At the 2015 International Conference., I met many people from around the world, and through those encounters I recognized again how joyful and wonderful it is to interact with different people.

I facilitated two workshops:  In my morning workshop, the participants came from various countries. I always kept in mind the conference title, ‘Peaceful Lyre.’ We created a group with strong unity, where advanced players waited until beginners could play with ease. Everyone had the power to enjoy and the heart to help each other, instead of fearing mistakes. We started with body movements, and then we had sound communications with lyre. I told about the history and the basso continuo in the music pieces.

In the afternoon workshop, some participants were from the youth group. I brought more powerful content. The workshop title was ‘Renaissance Music,’ and I prepared a French piece for lyre. I also added some choreography, mixing the renaissance dance and the eurythmy. Each one showed an expression for one word by the eurythmy movements: Hope, Soul, Heart, Music, Lyre, Love.

The conference in Detroit was a wonderful experience... it allowed me to discover a new me. To the team and to the participants, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude.  -Akiyo

Anouncements from North America

Resonare:
Foundation Studies in Music Out of Anthroposophy

A new cycle is beginning in September 2016. This course is open to all who have an interest in exploring the elements of music. The primary focus is on developing one’s capacities for listening and investigating the qualities of tone. For this exploration, we turn to the lyre with its unique ability to release musical tone from the physicality of the instrument. In addition to our work with the lyre, course content includes singing, music theory, and the study of Rudolf Steiner’s lectures on the nature of music. Participants explore the relationship to intervals and are given the opportunity to apply this understanding to improvisation. Movement sessions, including Spacial Dynamics and eurythmy, form an important aspect of each weekend. Working in a small group, the structure is designed to provide ample time for experiential learning in a supportive environment.

The schedule for the Resonare Music Foundation course consists of five long weekends from September 2016 through May 2017. We begin with a supper each Thursday evening and end by mid-day Sunday. We meet at the Harmonia Center for Instrumental and Vocal Music Therapy, based in Philmont, NY.  Applications are now being accepted for September. For more information, please contact Channa Seidenberg at (518) 672-4389. E-mail: channaseidenberg@gmail.com.

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AWME invites you to
The 17th Annual Waldorf Summer Music Conference!

In its 17th year, the 2016 Waldorf Summer Music Conference will offer a journey through the grades, looking more closely at what stands behind the music curriculum. Bringing ‘the right thing at the right time’ is the hallmark of Waldorf education, and the music curriculum reflects this profound pedagogy.

WHEN: July 10, 2016 @ 5:30 pm – July 15, 2016 @ 1:00 pm
WHERE: Cedarwood Waldorf School, 3030 SW 2nd Ave, Portland, OR 97201 USA
COST: $455 for AWME members; $495 for non-members
CONTACT: Diana Bright – 503-863-9112 -  dbright@cedarwoodschool.org 

Click here to see more registration details!

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Announcing the start of the second
East Coast Foundational Singing Training with Christiaan Boele

This part-time training meets twice a year beginning Summer 2016 in Spring Valley, NY at The Threefold Educational Foundation. Contact Shannon Boyce at shannonaliciaboyce@gmail.com for more details and to register.

Invitation from our German Friends

From Gerhard Beilharz

Dear friends of the lyre and future lyrists –

What follows is a whole series of concerts, conferences, and events coming up in the next weeks and months. Details (if already known) to all events are available on www.leier-forum.com.   

MEETINGS

The 3rd Langenberg lyre festival takes place from April 29 (evening) to May 1st (noon) 2016 in Windrather Talschule in Velbert-Langenberg. Further details will be announced shortly.  Requests, suggestions, offers, please contact Nele Christiane Roth, nelechristiane@gmx.de.

The 3-lyre youth conference at Ascension will take place from 4 to 8 May 2016 again in Bliestorf (Lübeck), led by Joachim Lentz and Martin Tobiassen.

Hartmut Reuter will hold a lyre day for all on April 23 in Mainleus-Veitlahm, with workshops and concerts, under the sign of the 400th death year of William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes.

There is also a whole series of CONCERTS in southern Germany and Switzerland:

Art of Fugue - and more

Workshop Concert with Gerhard Beilharz, Wolfgang Friebe, Nobuko Izumoto, Thomas Leins
February 28, 2016, 20 am, Rudolf Steiner Seminar Bad Boll

Music for Two Lyres

Wolfgang Friebe and Thomas Leins
Works by Maurice Ravel, Alois Kuenstler, Lothar Reubke et al
Works by Ravel, artists, et al Reubke

• May 4, 2016, 20 am, Jacob Boehme branch Basel
• May 5, 2016 (Ascension Day) at 11:30 am, Christian Community Schopfheim
• May 7, 2016, 19.30, Ita Wegman Klinik Arlesheim, Switzerland
• July 3, 2016, 19 am, Rudolf Steiner House Heidenheim

Summer Concert

Lyre ensemble Ueberlingen, headed by Susanne Heinz and Susanne Hackenberg
July 3, 2016, expected to 16:00, House Rengold, Ueberlingen

This is a preview. If you would like your own event listed, then please let us know!

Friendly greetings from Bad Boll, Gerhard Beilharz

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From Hartmut Reuter

A lyre workshop will take place on Saturday, April 23, 2016 at Adam Schneider Hall, Father Bergweg 5, 95336 Mainleus-Veitlahm, Germany, from 9 am-6 pm. This day we will be commemorating 400 years of Shakespeare and 400 years of Miguel de Cervantes. We will be introduced to music spanning four centuries.

All lyre playing levels are welcome! If you don't own an instrument, you will be able to borrow one. For more information, please contact Silvia & Hartmut Reuter at info@klangbus.de.  [READ the FLYER]