Lyre 2015 - Looking Back

A Note from Sheila Johns for the Lyre Board

As I reflect back on our time in Detroit, the feeling quality of the experience becomes ever stronger for me as the 2 weeks after the conference have passed.  I feel that it is truly amazing what was allowed to come to pass during our days together.  On reflection, it seems almost like all of our hard work, each of us in our own areas of assumed responsibility, was orchestrated like a symphony, from airport rides, to registration, to browsing for music, to considering the shapes and sounds of our instrument itself, to putting programs together, to teaching and participating in both small and large groups, to experiencing the amazing potential of the next generation of lyrists, to deepening old friendships and making important new ones, to socializing down the hallways and in the kitchen to jamming in the conference room, to the merging of our different spoken languages into our common musical one - playing together, listening together, sharing together on every level and finally with the general public – a week of pure magic, both similar and utterly different from any international gathering we have ever had.  A distinctly new sense of real community has emerged – that which some of us had envisioned already in 2003 but which only now, 12 years later, seems truly destined to finally come about.  

I just want to express my gratitude to each one of you who labored so diligently to do your part to make this all happen.  I truly marvel at the beautiful way in which everyone devoted their full efforts to creating a whole that, looking back, ended up being so very much greater than the sum of all of its parts – greater, I think, than any of us imagined could be.

Sheila P. Johns

For the LANA Board

Lyre 2015: Youth Lyre Workshop

 

An important part of our international lyre gathering in Detroit, Michigan this August, is our Youth Lyre Workshop, which will run simultaneously with our general adult conference. As of this week, we have received ten registrations from young people ages 11 through 19 who will participate in this special program for youth as well as registrations from five older adolescents who, we are excited to report, will be full participants with us in the adult conference! 

The Youth Workshop will begin with an afternoon registration at 5:30 pm on Monday, August 3rd followed by supper together, where young people will meet the other participants and their teachers, Veronika Roemer and Christina Porkert, who will be leading the workshop.  After supper, the youth will join the adults for our opening evening, which will include a general welcome and orientation, remarks on the conference theme, and several artistic offerings to include lyre playing, singing, and poetry from members of the Lyre Association of North America.

The schedule for the Youth Lyre Workshop will begin with singing together at 8:30 am each morning from Tuesday through Friday. The next hour will be dedicated to playing lyre together. After a morning break, students will explore musical possibilities with new instruments, including metal and stringed instruments, and will then have an opportunity to combine their lyres with some of the new instruments to create a piece of music together! 

Following lunch together, some exciting activities have been planned for the youth to explore the beautiful city of Detroit on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons. The students will visit the Pewabic Pottery and will be able to create a ceramic tile of their very own. They will also visit the Michigan Science Center, which features hundreds of hands-on exhibits, and finally, they will visit the renowned Greenfield Village for an authentic exploration of early American history and culture. More details and links for these unique local adventures are provided below! 

The youth will return from their outings before supper and will then be released to the care of their parents or guardians for supper and the remainder of the evening. Youth Workshop participants and their families are warmly invited to join the adult conference participants for our evenings of Artistic Offerings on both Tuesday and Wednesday. 

On Friday, following lunch, the youth will stay together to rehearse in preparation for their contribution to our final evening Public Concert, which will be the official close of the dedicated Youth Lyre Workshop. All youth are warmly invited to join the adults for our closing on Saturday morning, which will feature sharing from the various adult workshops as well as a closing plenum and farewell lunch. 

We still have space available for a few more young people who would like to spend an exciting week exploring music making together with others their age from both the US and several other countries. Remember that no previous musical experience is necessary. This will be a very special week of sharing music, culture, new friends, and lots of fun! Please pass the word to any young people in your communities who might still wish to join us for this unique opportunity in conjunction with Lyre 2015 in Detroit, Michigan this August!

-Sheila Johns

June 20, 2015

Youth Activities – August 4th through 6th, 2015

We have some wonderful adventures planned for the youth on the afternoons of the Conference! Look for a lot of interactive activities and plenty of diversity in different parts of Detroit. 

1) Pewabic Pottery

We thought our youth would like to create a ceramic tile as a keepsake of their trip. A drive about 5 miles east of Wayne State close to the river brings us to this 1903 National Historic Landmark. 

Founded by Mary Stratton and Horace Caulkins of the Arts and Crafts movement, Pewabic is renowned for its iridescent glazes used to tile Detroit’s prestigious buildings and residences, as well as Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium and the Nebraska State Capitol. Children will tour the fabrication studio, the extensive ware shop, then attend a workshop allowing them to hone their pottery skills in an intimate setting with ceramic artists. The youth leaders will return to the studio later to pick up the artwork after they have fired them for us.  Go to http://www.pewabic.org and find out more.

2) Michigan Science Center

We’ll walk three blocks East of the WSU campus along Midtown’s Putnam Street to the 10th largest science museum in the country. Greatly expanded since its opening in 1970, this modern center features hundreds of hands-on exhibits with special attention to youth groups. Depending on the time, we’ll experience whales on the biggest IMAX screen in the state, a theater for examining electromagnetism, and/or the planetarium. Science is not too dry and abstract here! 

Visit http://www.mi-sci.org to see more.

3) Greenfield Village

We’ll drive about ten miles west to one of the most exciting places in the country. On 80 acres surrounding the famous Henry Ford Museum, we’ll have a chance to visit almost 100 historic structures that have been moved to this location, including the Wright Brothers’ bicycle shop, Lincoln’s courthouse, Ford’s garage, Noah Webster’s home, and many others. There are Model T’s, 19th century baseball games, a 19th century steam engine, an antique carousel and paddle boat, artisans at work, a working farm, and hundreds of historical re-enactors showing us cooking, crafts, telling stories, and giving the youth a look at many American historical events. Who knows what will sidetrack us? And there’s no way to see everything in one afternoon! 

Visit http://www.thehenryford.org/village/index.aspx for more details.

- Joel Bartlett

Conference Links

Main Conference Schedule

Youth Workshop Schedule 

Registration Form

VisitDetroit.com

Lyre 2015 Pedagogy Conference

Lyre 2015 Pedagogy Conference

This week’s Lyre 2015 update will focus on our Third International Lyre Pedagogy Conference.  During informal lunchtime meetings at Lyre 2006 in Northern Ireland, many lyre teachers expressed a strong desire to create a forum for teachers of the lyre where experience and methodology could be shared and deepened, and where it might be possible to establish personal relationships with other colleagues involved with lyre pedagogy.  Anna Prokovnick Cooper and Sarah Boyd, organizers of Lyre 2006, along with Channa Seidenberg and Sheila Johns from the US, heard this call as a mandate, and we began working toward such a future possibility even before we departed from Belfast!  The result was our first-ever Lyre Pedagogy Conference in Sweden in 2009, attended by over 40 teachers and other interested lyrists.  Teachers from a number of countries shared with the full group their personal pedagogical experience, and we agreed enthusiastically to do more of this kind of work together.  In 2012 in Überlingen, Germany, a similarly large group assembled to take up this work once again.  For this Second Lyre Pedagogy Conference, we held breakout sessions distinguished by various types of lyre teaching, surrounding these focus sessions with full group singing, improvising, and meaningful dialogue.

 This summer, for Lyre 2015, we are pleased to report that so far we have 33 teachers and friends registered for our Third International Pedagogy Conference, and we are hoping and expecting to be joined by others!  We will begin on Saturday evening, August 1st, with registration beginning at 4:30 pm, supper at 6:00 pm, and a 7:30 pm opening session where we will meet each other as well as sing and play together.  For our full day on Sunday, following a brief opening, all participants will have the opportunity to choose 2 of 6 areas of lyre teaching focus as shown below – one from the three Youth Groups, and one from the three Adult Groups:

 ·         Kinder Harp/Early Childhood

·         Lower School Age

·         Adolescents 

·         Beginning Adults

·         Intermediate Adults

·         Older Adults/Special Needs Adults

During the morning hours on Sunday, the groups will focus on approach and teaching methodology for the various ages and stages.  Following our lunch break, the same groups will deepen their focus on the application of teaching methods to include repertoire and practical matters.  On Sunday evening, we will come together in the full group to share conclusions and repertoire from the three Youth Groups.   

On Monday morning, we will share together what came out of the three Adult Groups, concluding with directed conversation of the whole group, which may well extend into our final lunch together!  There will then be time for a nice afternoon break before the opening of our Main Conference that night. 

We are eager to take our pedagogy focus to another level for Lyre 2015 and are confident that the widespread experience and enthusiasm of this special gathering of teachers will create a rich and inspiring event for all who attend!  If you have not already registered, please consider joining us, and if you know of anyone who would be interested in understanding more about learning to play the lyre, this unique gathering will have something for everyone who loves the lyre and wishes to see it develop and thrive in the world! 

To complement the music we will share informally at our Pedagogy Conference, don’t forget our official lyre music store that will be up and running during our Main Conference, carrying volumes of music from many countries!  Please see the following note from Music Sales coordinator, Samantha Embrey. 

Sheila Johns, May 30, 2015     

Detroit, Michigan – “City of Heart and Soul”

Detroit, Michigan – “City of Heart and Soul”

 Witnessing spring, we are amazed at how bountiful plants grow out of rocky, seemingly lifeless soil. This fact of metamorphosis can also be seen as the forces of growth of individuals and even whole communities. Just as tender seedlings emerge from apparently barren ground, so too can societies be reborn out of disorganization. Over the course of time, a number of urban areas have re-emerged from a place of darkness. One example is Detroit, Michigan, once a bustling, vital economic center, which experienced a plunge into less favorable times. Yet this mid-western city, perched between Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair, is showing clear signs of regeneration. Detroit is re-defining itself and reforming in new and positive ways.

 It is a place of great opportunity. The enthusiasm to revitalize the area was recently likened to the California Gold Rush, as demonstrated by the people who have flocked to Detroit to take advantage of the low housing prices and favorable investment prospects.*  Many have come to start businesses and take part in the rebuilding process. These people, dedicated to realizing Detroit’s potential, have arrived with creative ideas to remake this urban setting. 

It is both the charm and the challenges that draw people to Detroit. The list of new initiatives continues to grow. There are those who have bought up dilapidated structures and are refurbishing them; others who have opened restaurants, sporting goods stores, and coffee shops. One man used his own money to purchase vacant lots and gather volunteers to plant 15,000 trees.*  The transformation of broken down neighborhoods into attractive areas is on the rise.

It is this community spirit that inspires LANA to embrace this region of our country during the upcoming International Lyre conference. This deed of consciously carrying the torch of human dignity into places that have been affected by abandonment can be of great spiritual significance for all of us.   

 It is our sincere hope to bring the healing aspects of the lyre and singing to an area that can benefit meaningfully.  By offering the musical element it is our wish to engender camaraderie and give voice to hope for new beginnings. In this way, we will spread the music of the lyre and our voices over a land that will most appreciate these gestures of good will. 

Catherine Decker, May 18, 2015    

      *Excerpted from Susan Ager’s article “Tough, Cheap, Real – Detroit is Cool Again,” in National Geographic, April 2015.

 For more information about the remaking of Detroit, see: http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/why-business-owners-are-setting-shop-michigan

Music Sales at Lyre 2015 in Detroit!

Music Sales at Lyre 2015 in Detroit!

 One of the benefits of an international lyre conference is that it is a special opportunity to view and purchase lyre music published all over the world.  We expect to have many tables of music and other related items available for sale in Detroit.  As in Überlingen in 2012, the sale of music, etc., will be centralized so that it will be easier to examine items and pay for them.

It’s not too late to register….. See the Lyre 2015 Registration Form and payment information (email: lyrists@gmail.com).

If you want to sell music publications at Lyre 2015 in Detroit, please contact Samantha Embrey as soon as possible—samantha@sembrey.net—and she will give you more information, including an address for mailing the music.

Lyre 2015 News – May 2015

Lyre 2015 News – May 2015

  Dear friends of the lyre,

  Spring is greeting us here inthe USA with its beautiful blossoms, warming air, and increasing light, which is lifting our spirits with the vision of new possibilities and enthusiasm for our upcoming endeavors!  It is our sincere hope that each of you is experiencing a similar mood of expectation and renewed forces in your various regions of the world as we move confidently toward the approaching summer and Lyre 2015.

  We have a very important reminder for everyone on this 14th of May that signals only ONE MORE DAY before the Early Bird deadline to register for our upcoming international conference.  Today and tomorrow until midnight Eastern Daylight Time in the USA, our conference fee will remain at $350.  Beginning on Saturday, May 16th,the cost will increase to $400.  If you have the intention to join us for the conference and have just not had time toregister, NOW is the time to save $50! The most important thing is for you to submit your registration form as soon as possible!  Here again is the link to all the forms: http://lyreassociation.org/lyre2015.  If you are not sure about your finances, need more time to organize your personal affairs, or if you have any other extenuating circumstances that may be delaying your registration, please contact us immediately at lyrists@gmail.com so that we know your situation and can work with you.  As long as you have simply submitted your registration information by midnight on Friday, we will still honor the Early Bird discount!

  Important note to lyre builders, workshop leaders, or other conference carriers who have waivers or discounts on the conference fee: We also need to have your registration forms in hand by the 15th in order to avoid the additional $50 charge.

  Because we are holding our conference at a university, we must comply with certain deadlines in order to meet their requirements.  This is the reason that we have to be firm about our dates for registration.  We thank everyone for giving prompt attention to this request in order to support the necessary process leading up to a successful conference this summer!

We continue to receive exciting and new workshop offerings, and we are including here our most recent list of workshops for both the morning and afternoon.  We are still hoping for more workshop offerings and will continue to send regular updates with details on all workshops as well as the lyre groups.  If you are thinking about offering a workshop and wish to have your conference fee waived, NOW IS THE TIME to register and let us know of your intention!

  We do have complete programs in place for both of our adjunct conferences for the youth and the teachers.   We will be sending out full schedules over the next several weeks, but we want to share a few more details with you now.

  The Pedagogy Conference will open with a full group session for the opening evening of Saturday, August 1st, and then we will spend the next full day in various focus groups according to areas of interest.  We will also sing together and share experiences and music from ALL of the focus groups by the time we conclude on Monday morning. Please note that both lunch meals are included in your low registration fee for the Pedagogy Conference!

Early Registration for the 2015 International Lyre Conference ends 4/30/15

THE LYRE AS 
INSTRUMENT FOR PEACE

Monday, August 3 - Saturday, August 8, 2015

Information page is here:

http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/1164957/697602fd95/543465281/73aad1dc8b/

Inviting Lyre Friends from Around the World . . .

The Lyre as Instrument for Peace:  
Giving Ear Toward Understanding and Reconciliation

2015 International Lyre Conference - 3-8 August, 2015
2015 Lyre Pedagogy Conference - 1-3 August, 2015

DETROIT, MICHIGAN, USA

  What is the task of the lyre in our time? What is the full reality of the lyre tone? Is it possible that there is more to this instrument than we, in our richly varied endeavors, have so far managed to bring about? 

  Contemplating a thematic focus for the next International Lyre Conference, the Board of the Lyre Association of North America, inspired by the suggestions of Channa Seidenberg, has felt compelled to ponder these questions in the context of our present global situation and to consider whether the lyre may have something particularly important to offer in our time. 

  We have found it of interest to remember that during each of the regencies of the Archangel Michael* throughout history, there has actually been a lyre on the earth. We wonder if the existence of the lyre in our contemporary world may suggest that this instrument, with its unique tone, has the capacity to elicit new thoughts about how we might learn to work together. How could this be so? The sounding of even a single lyre tone evokes a listening response – not just the usual “listening to,” but a deeper “listening into.” The tone of the lyre creates a space for silence.  In that silence, we are thrown back onto ourselves and into a state of inner listening. Could we consider the possibility that the deteriorating social conditions in our world may be asking us to look within ourselves? Could the cultivating of peace and reconciliation within our own souls have an impact in our families, in our communities, and even beyond? Is the courage to “look within” part of the signature of Michael in our time, and can our work with the lyre bring us closer to the realization of that possibility? 

  We feel that this is indeed a key aspect of the task of the lyre in our time: to learn how to “listen in,” so that we may begin to experience the reflection that arises from the lyre tone. Such a gesture of “listening in” can then allow for a consciously penetrated “sounding out.” This kind of inner activity has the potential to reconnect us with the life forces that are always in and around us – life forces that can inspire out cognition of who we really are as human beings, and a sense for the responsibility that such a realization entails. This process may well guide us to a deeper understanding and reconciliation within ourselves. 

  The Lyre as Instrument of Peace has been conceived in the spirit of the theme of Healing with the Lyre from Lyre 2006 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. For Lyre 2015 in Detroit, Michigan, we propose to take this theme to the next step – that of healing ourselves by playing, listening, and exploring together through our work with the lyre, toward the possibility of furthering understanding and reconciliation in the world. We warmly invite the world lyre community to join us in this worthy, mutual endeavor. 

~ Sheila P. Johns, for the LANA Board

  *The archangel Michael is a spiritual warrior in the battle of good versus evil, whose reign began at the end of the 19th century. His previous reign occurred in Greek times, about 200 BC. He is considered a champion of justice, a healer of the sick, and a guardian. In art, Michael, whose earthly counterpart is St. George, is depicted with a sword, a banner, or scales, and is often shown vanquishing Satan in the form of a dragon.

Conference News

As we announced in our last edition of LyreNotes, the Lyre Association of North America will be hosting the next International Lyre Conference from August 3-8, 2015. We are quite excited about the prospect of inviting our lyre friends worldwide to come to North America once again! This time, we will be gathering in the middle of our country in an American city that is making an impressive cultural resurgence. With echoes of our 2009 conference in Belfast, we envision a task for our world lyre community to support and add our voice to the healing and rebuilding that is springing up in so many ways at the present time in Detroit, Michigan. 

  Founded in 1701 by Antoine de Cadillac, Detroit has a rich, diverse history. In the past century, Detroit has gone from the great heights of the automobile industry to the depths of bankruptcy. The city is now growing into a vibrant new era of rebuilding its community through embracing the cultural diversity of its citizens. Among many other things, the area boasts historical museums and churches, art and cultural centers, a riverwalk, riverboat cruises to the great lakes, and nature walks on Belle Isle. 

  Our host for the conference will be Wayne State University, which is well-experienced in hosting conferences and workshops and will provide for us all the advantages of a seasoned infrastructure. The Wayne State University campus is in the center of the city, located just two blocks from the magnificent Detroit Institute of Arts and a short bus ride from the Detroit River and the new five-mile river walk. If you can stay for a few days after the conference, you may wish to travel to Northern Michigan to see the Mackinac Bridge or take the ferry to Mackinac Island where no cars are allowed and everyone travels by foot, horse-drawn carriage, or bicycle. 

  For our conference, the Lyre 2015 Planning Group has designed a varied program around our theme of "The Lyre As Instrument for Peace: Giving Ear Toward Understanding and Reconciliation."  In addition to a morning musical plenum, afternoon lyre groups, and evening concerts, we will have two different types of workshops: morning workshops related to our conference theme and afternoon workshops on more wide-ranging topics of general interest to our lyre community. You can view the entire schedule here: 

  Lyre 2015 Schedule                    Leier 2015 Zeitplan (in German)

  Additionally, we are looking forward to our Third Lyre Pedagogy Conference for teachers or others interested in exploring the many approaches to teaching the lyre. This conference is scheduled immediately before our general conference, from the afternoon of August 1st through the morning of August 3rd. We hope that many conference attendees will plan to come a few days early in order to participate in this important event. 

  We are also very pleased to be able to host a Youth Lyre Workshop, which will take place concurrently with our general conference. Details about this can be found below. 

  With so many opportunities to greet old and new friends from around the world, to make music together, and to participate in exploring new ways to work with the lyre in our time, we are hopeful that many friends throughout the world will seriously consider joining us for Lyre2015 in North America. It is important to add that we do recognize the individual financial requirement for such an undertaking. LANA is engaged in fundraising efforts of our own so that we can offer as much support as possible to those who need financial help; however, we urge all friends of the lyre to work within your local lyre communities or as individuals to brainstorm fundraising ideas in your own regions in order to make it more possible to consider attending the conference. 

  Please be watching for the official Lyre 2015 Online Conference Registration forms which will be made available within the next two weeks! In the meantime, further information about conference costs and arrangements can be found elsewhere in these pages. 

  With the year 2015 now underway, our approaching conference is beginning to feel much closer. Knowing that we have friends and colleagues throughout the world who are standing behind this effort will continue to provide us with the moral support and courage we need to carrythis world conference to its full realization in August! 

  Sheila Johns, for the Lyre 2015 Planning Group

Youth Lyre Workshop

  As part of Lyre 2015, we are happy to be able to offer a workshop for young people from age 9 through adolescence. No previous experience or particular musical skills are required to participate in this workshop. 

  The lyre will be introduced and worked with as the primary musical experience; other new instruments, such as gongs and other metal instruments, bordun lyres, and bowed instruments will also be used. All of these new instruments, especially the lyre, offer original and creative possibilities for making music together. 

  In comparison with traditional classical instruments, these new instruments pose fewer technical “hurdles” for beginners. The smaller lyres and the majority of the other instruments even allow for movement while playing. Much original music has been written for these new instruments, and there are also many arrangements of classical, folk,and pop music, particularly for the lyre. 

  Our morning schedule will include improvisingand playing together as well as practicing a selected piece of music to be presented at the concluding concert of the conference. In the afternoons, other activities will be offered, such as crafts and outings to the surrounding area. 

  The workshop will be led by Christina Porkert and Veronika Roemer, with additional adult leadersfor the afternoon activities. Christina and Veronika are both professional musicians with many years of experience with these new instruments and enlivening ways of making music. Please pass the word and encourage your children or students to join us for this special youth supplement to our international lyre conference!

  For more information, please contact VeronikaRoemer, email: vbrtnstn@gmail.com.

Coming Soon - Soundings, A Lyre Review - Volume 5, Advent 2014

Volume 5

. Hajime Kira, "Potential of the Unique Resonance of Lyre Tones"

. Catherine Read, "Inner Balance and the Lyre"

. Christian Morgenstern (poem in two languages), "Krishna-Stimmung / Krishna Mood"

. Christof-Andreas Lindenberg, "The Interval and Movement"

. Catherine H. Decker (poem), "Earth Hush"

. Music Supplement: 6 compositions (Seidenberg, Anderberg, Lindenberg, Handel /Brewer)

See: http://lyreassociation.org/membership

*** Lyre 2015 International Conference in DETROIT ***

Lyre 2015 International Conference will be in Detroit

Save the end of July/beginning of August, 2015

Check back soon for exact dates

Lyre Association of North America - Celebration, October 2013

Spectacular colors flanked our passage from the Hudson Valley over the Berkshire range to the Pioneer Valley in western Massachusetts. The vibrancy of the brilliant landscape accompanied us as we prepared for our musical presentation, “Music in Tone and Word”. Offered by the Hadley Lyre Ensemble, this was the first of two performances of music and poetry.

Conceived in recognition of 30 years of the Lyre Association of North America, these offerings were part of a larger celebration that spanned the U.S. throughout the past year. Under the direction of Channa Seidenberg, the Hadley Lyre Ensemble has played on various occasions in the Amherst and Hadley region, as well as in Hudson, New York.

We carted our instruments to the second floor of the Northampton Quaker Meeting house where large windows on three sides allowed the autumn light to stream into the room. Entering the open, high-ceilinged chamber, one sensed the calm and simplicity that pervaded. To begin the afternoon, the audience was introduced to the history of the modern lyre and how it was first developed in Europe. Channa shared the story of how the Lyre Association of North America was formed in the early 1980’s. She spoke about the therapeutic, pedagogical, and artistic aspects of the instrument.

A diverse musical program followed, ranging from Bach to contemporary composers. Included in the afternoon’s selections were pieces by two members of the ensemble. Our venue was transformed into a resonant space for the freed tones of the lyre. Poems were read by members of the ensemble.

At the conclusion of the musical offering, the audience was invited to stay afterwards for refreshments. Genuine interest and enthusiasm poured in. People who had no familiarity with anthroposophy or Waldorf education were fascinated to hear the special quality of the instrument. They were intrigued to learn more about the lyre and how they could experience more music of this sort. Some spoke of the peace and relaxation they felt. One woman said that as soon as the music started, she experienced all the tension leaving her body. A man commented that “the whole program, from beginning to end, was like a prayer.”

The same program was offered the following weekend at Solaris Camphill in Hudson NY. Again, the members of the audience, numbering more than 80, spoke of feeling nurtured as they were invited to open their listening space. Those who had not previously heard the lyre were moved by its resonant quality.

Taken together, the two performances served as a testament honoring the impulse behind the lyre, and acknowledging its use in schools, at the bedside, and in life-sharing communities. Moreover, it reminded us of how the pure tones lead us to the future, and how this instrument has everything to do with spreading seeds for what is to come.

-by Catherine Decker margo.ketchum@gmail.com

The Lyre - An Instrument For Our Time

The Lyre - An Instrument for Our Time

The lyre has been an important instrument since ancient times, in Persia, Egypt, Greece, and Italy. The modern lyre was first created in the 1920's, by Edmund Pracht and Lothar Gartner, after indications from Rudolf Steiner. It is a most unique and unusual instrument, because of its purity of tone, and harmonic potential. It is suitable for all ages to play, from young children to older people, and although it has specific techniques of playing, it is not a difficult instrument to master. It can be enjoyed at all levels of playing ability. Its tone gives a wonderful quality of healing and relaxation, whether it is played in a therapeutic, social or teaching setting.

With all these wonderful qualities, one may wonder why the lyre is not better known, and more widely played and heard. There are lyre builders all over the world, building beautiful instruments. The lyre is taught in some Waldorf schools in the U.K., Germany, the U.S., and Australia, but, like the recorder, it is used here as a pedagogical activity, and rightly so. It takes a very devoted and skilled teacher to encourage children to continue to play the lyre later on, in the same way that they would learn other orchestral instruments. There are also lyre players in Camphill communities, who play for therapies, or the Christian Community, but even here there is not usually much encouragement to play more widely (there are some notable exceptions!).

I have pondered the question of HOW to widen the playing and experience of the lyre, for many years, especially as, in my work as a freelance lyre player, I am greeted with delight by my listeners, most of whom have never seen a lyre before.

I have come to the conclusion that one vital way of spreading the word about the lyre is to create more lyre teachers, who can then go on to teach and inspire others. In my small area of work, I could probably do three times the amount of lyre work, if I had the time and energy! That would require 48 hour days!

There is an important distinction between lyre players or performers, and teachers. This occurs for any musical instrument. Of course the teacher needs a thorough mastery of the instrument first, but then learns the art of listening to their pupils, in a way that can encourage the full potential of each pupil. In this sense, every lesson is unique to that pupil. Teachers also learn the art of patience, empathy, and positivity. They can develop each pupil's ability, and guide them in specific ways, which are correct for them. They can devise special exercises, games and pieces, to help their pupil's progress in the best possible way.

With all my qualifications as a musician, teacher, director of lyre groups, lyre workshops and presentations all over the world, I feel confident in offering a course for teachers of the lyre, in the U.K. There will be some prerequisites of eligibility, but each applicant will be considered on their own merits.

The course will be a series of 10 weekends, over two years, and will cover all aspects of lyre playing and teaching. This will include a history of the lyre, texts concerning the Anthroposophical study of music, biographical work, and a study of the human being, with reference to the development of music. The study of suitable music for babies, young children, music in the Waldorf curriculum, adults, Special Needs players, lyre groups and solo work, music for older people, and lyre music for the dying, will all be covered. This work will be complemented by, and integrated with art, voice, and rhythm work.

For more details, please contact Anna at aprokhovnik@hotmail.com.

Anna Prokhovnik Cooper, 24th March, 2014

2014 LANA Summer Intensive

“Playing the Lyre with Joy” 

As most of our members and friends know, every three years, the Lyre Association of North America hosts a lyre intensive for our summer gathering.  Such intensives are specifically designed to support lyrists of all ages and stages in their individual work with our amazing instrument, the lyre.  To guide us in 2008, we welcomed master teacher Anna Prokovnik Cooper from Northern Ireland, and in 2011, we were privileged to have Gerhard Beilharz from Germany. 

This summer of 2014, we are very pleased to be able to welcome yet another internationally recognized master teacher—Hajime Kira from Tokyo, Japan!  Hajime was trained as a lyrist in Germany and was subsequently instrumental in bringing the work of the lyre to Japan and building it up in an extraordinary way.  Japan is now one of the flagship locations in the world for lyre teaching and playing.  Hajime has presented at all of our international lyre conferences, and those of us who have attended his workshops have been introduced to remarkable techniques and exercises that have addressed all aspects of lyre playing, from technical skill building to tone production.

In addition to alternating the focus of our summer conferences in a three-year rhythm, LANA has sought to vary the conference locations in an effort to reach as many lyrists or would-be lyrists across our vast country as possible.  We are very pleased to have an opportunity this summer of 2014 to host our conference in beautiful Portland, Oregon, at the Cedarwood Waldorf School cedarwoodschool.org  from Wednesday evening, July 30 through Sunday morning, August 3.

In our next Lyre Notes, we will have more detailed information about our conference as well as links to registration.  In the meantime, we want to share our excitement for both the content and the venue for what we are confident will prove to be one of our most valuable and enjoyable conferences ever!  Please plan to join us~

Sheila P. Johns, for the Lyre Board

2014 Lyre Conference

The Lyre Association of North America announces its

2014 Summer Lyre Intensive
Save the Date!

July 30 – August 3, 2014
in PORTLAND, OREGON

(Wed evening through Sunday noon)

Featuring guest master lyrist and teacher: 
Hajime Kira, from Japan

Hadley Lyre Ensemble celebrates LANA's Anniversary

In Celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the Lyre Association of North America

 Hadley Lyre Ensemble

The Hadley Lyre Ensemble celebrates the 30th Anniversary of the Lyre Association of North America with two presentations of Music in Tone & Word: An Afternoon of Lyre & Poetry with the Hadley Lyre Ensemble. This event is offered on Saturday, October 12th at the Northampton Friends Meeting House in Northampton, MA and on Saturday, October 19th at Solaris Camphill Hudson in Hudson, NY. “Many people have never heard the unique and therapeutic tones of the modern lyre,” states the Ensemble’s Director Channa Seidenberg, “and we wish to change that.” The program includes works by J.S. Bach, Arvo Pärt, Colin Tanser, Gerhard Maasz, Max Gross, Jan Nilsson, Turlough O’Carolan, Channa A. Seidenberg, and Julia Elliott. Selected poetry from ancient to modern times on the theme of music will also be presented. These events are free and open to the public, with refreshments served afterwards. 

The Hadley Lyre Ensemble, founded in 2009 by Director Channa A. Seidenberg, is made up of eight lyrists from the Pioneer Valley and Boston, Massachusetts and the Hudson Valley, New York. The group plays a wide range of music from baroque to modern as well as improvisational pieces. “In our practice, we work consciously with tone production, seeking to free the tone from the instrument of its making so that it builds an experience of pure tone in the room,” Seidenberg explains, “We recognize the therapeutic and uplifting benefits of this listening work and celebrate each opportunity to share this work with others.” The Ensemble regularly provides music for special events, including the annual Winter Garden at the Hartsbrook School in Hadley, MA, and Walking the Dog Theater's annual Christmas Eve performance of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" in Hudson, NY. For more information about the Lyre Association of North America, visit www.lyreamerica.net. For more information about this event, contact The Hadley Lyre Ensemble at (518) 672-4389 or channaseidenberg@gmail.com.

Louise Drosse, for the Hadley Lyre Ensemble

The Lyre and the Human Voice

Summer 2013 Lyre Conference

The Lyre Association of North America (LANA) held its Summer Conference, “The Lyre and the Human Voice,” from Saturday, July 20, through Wednesday, July 24, in Chapel Hill, NC.  Guest presenter was Thomas Adam, Werbeck singer and Director of Werbeck Therapeutic Singing trainings in this country, Germany, and Brazil.

The conference was held at the Emerson Waldorf School, a wonderful venue for playing, singing, catching up with colleagues, and meeting new friends.

How do we play the lyre in a singing manner?

The modern lyre came into being out of a search for a music instrument to accompany the new art of tone eurythmy. Tone eurythmy seeks to make musical tone visible through movement. Two young artists, Lothar Gärtner and Edmund Pracht, sculptor and musician respectively, were inspired to create an instrument that could adequately support the etheric movement in this very young art. Thus the modern lyre was born.

As of 1907, Rudolf Steiner gave important indications of renewal for all the arts. In 1912, coinciding with the initial impulse of the art of eurythmy, a collaborative effort between Rudolf Steiner and Valborg Werbeck-Svardstrom began.

In the schooling for Uncovering the Voice, Mrs. Werbeck was searching for apath to develop the voice as a phenomenon of the reality of etheric movement. For the forces of singing to become free, education and training are needed. This is an essential task of voice development, especially in our time!

During our conference ”The Lyre and the Human Voice”, we will address the initial steps in the school for Uncovering the Voice – breath, sound development, and articulation. These same processes will then be applied to the playing of the lyre.

At the center of this activity lives the development of inner listening. The special nature of the lyre stimulates the movement of inner listening as no other musical instrument can.