Greetings from the LANA Board

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Greetings from the LANA Board

Dear Members and Friends of the Lyre Association of North America:

It’s a natural time of year to consider the blessings in our lives, and, in case we haven’t said it lately, the LANA Board feels very grateful to have each one of you as a part of our lyre-playing community….

I feel very grateful for the joy of playing with many of you and deeply appreciate the friends I have made through this Association. We hope that you have also benefitted from your membership in LANA and that you might consider showing your appreciation through a modest gift to further our mission. As we look toward the new year, we ask for your support. Tax-deductible donations, even small ones, from our members and friends around the world are so important in defraying the costs of accomplishing our mission….

With this year-end letter, we are happy to include a gift of music for all our members and friends to thank each of you for your continued financial and soul support for the work of the Lyre Association of North America.

Enjoy our free download: Advent Bells by Christof-Andreas Lindenberg.

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Comings and Goings on the LANA Board

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Comings and Goings on the LANA Board

The LANA board would like to thank Wendy Polich for her years of service to our lyre community. During her 6 years on the board, Wendy has been a part of every committee and has offered her expertise and gifts to each one of us….

And … the Board is very pleased to announce our newest board member, Sarah Stosiek. From the first moment her fingers touched the lyre strings at the early age of 6, the unique sound of the lyre has captivated Sarah. She has studied the lyre with LANA members Channa Seidenberg, Diane Barnes, and Christina Porkert. … When the opportunity arose in 2018 to work with Jan Braunstein, Sarah began playing the whole tone lyre and was introduced to free improvisation, which has become a deep interest. With the lyre, Sarah is always excited to experience moments when music consciously comes alive in new and exciting ways.

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A Gift from LANA's Store!

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A Gift from LANA's Store!

A Gift from LANA!

As our gift to you this season, we invite you to take 30% off all purchases made through our music store. 

Our online store is well stocked for your holiday gift giving with books on anthroposophy, Waldorf education, and music, as well as a treasure trove of sheet music for all the musicians in your life.  Plus, check out our supply of accessories, which include CD’s and beautiful Madonna cards. . . .

As part of our year-end sale, LANA is pleased to offer The Kerry Lee Collection, a compilation of Kerry’s personal literature and music. A lifelong student and committed teacher, Kerry Lee acquired many books on education, teaching, and self-development over the years. . . .

See: https://lyreassociation.org/store-home. . . . Once you have loaded up your cart, please use the code “MERRY30” at checkout for a 30% discount (sale ends January 5th). 

We wish you a very happy holiday season!

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LANA MEMBERSHIP ... and more!

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LANA MEMBERSHIP ... and more!

WELCOME LANA members who are new or rejoining – since April 2022:

Margaret Collinson – Farmington, ME;
Kelly Corson – Rindge, NH;
Melanie Eberhard – King of Prussia, PA;
Christian Giersch – Baden-Württemberg, Germany;
Brenda Hollweger – Solomons, MD;
Elizabeth Howe – Langley Park, UK;
Carla Huitt – Gettysburg, PA;
Nicole Krutzke – Glenmoore, PA;
Stephan Kühne – Berlin, Germany;
Yee-Ching Lau – Selangor, Malaysia;
Hanna Lloyd – South Dartmouth, MA;
Susan Moss – Kimberton, PA;
Yoko Ossing – Newton, MA;
Marcela Paz-Moreno – Berkeley, CA;
Natalia Peschiera Picasso – FL;
Petra Rosenberg – Zeist, Netherlands;
Corina Schad – Glenmoore, PA;
Julian Shu-Yen Liu – Kennett Square, PA;
Lisa Stauffer – Devon, PA;
Sarah Stosiek – Hillsdale, NY;
Yuka Taylor – Washington, DC;
Martin Tobiassen – Witten, Germany;
Maria Workman – Phoenixville, PA

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Forgotten Music from the Isles of the West

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Forgotten Music from the Isles of the West

Forgotten Music From he Isles of the West
Review by Diane Barnes ­– Hillsdale, NY

Those who are familiar with the Songs of the Hebrides, collected mainly by Marjory Kennedy-Fraser, will love this new book just published by John S. Clark, and those who are not familiar with these songs are in for a treat! Ms. Kennedy-Fraser arranged many of these wonderful songs with lovely piano settings for artistic performances. In this book, John has shared songs listed in Kennedy-Fraser’s written introductions that received no piano settings and for that reason, have been somewhat passed over in favor of the longer and more elaborate art-song settings. These were work songs that the industrious Scottish people sang over and over again as they carried out their hard, monotonous tasks. The singing lifted their souls so that they could work for long hours.

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2022 International Lyre Conference

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2022 International Lyre Conference

As reported in the recent edition of Lyre Notes, last August the world lyre community had the opportunity to participate in our first international lyre conference since we gathered in the Netherlands in the summer of 2018. Six LANA members, including two new members from abroad, were among the participants. Each has written a brief reflection on various aspects of this memorable experience, and we hope that the rich images contained in the following words and photos will give our members and friends a glimpse of this unique and soul-nourishing time of making music together again with so many lyrists from around the world in the extraordinarily beautiful town of Český Krumlov in the Czech Republic.

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Attending the World Lyre Conference in Český Krumlov

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Attending the World Lyre Conference in Český Krumlov

By Saeko Shibayama Cohn ­– Nyack, NY

From August 5 through 14, I attended the World Lyre Conference in Český Krumlov in the Czech Republic, accompanied by my son, Leon.

The conference opened with a three-day pedagogy workshop in which 20 people participated. Martin Tobiassen offered an opening talk entitled “Precious Forgetting,” and guided us throughout the weekend on the theme of lyre teacher training. Martin repeatedly emphasized the importance of learning pieces by heart on the lyre. “One of our tasks as teachers is to give students a skill they can rely on.”

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Resounding In Me ...

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Resounding In Me ...

By Yee Ching Lau – Malaysia

It is still resounding in me like a beautiful dream when I reflect on my memories of the World Lyre Conference in Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic after my return home to Malaysia.

Because of my love for the lyre, the encouragement and support from my lyre teachers as well as the financial aid provided by LANA, I finally I took my very first flight to Europe to attend my very first World Lyre Conference!

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A Final Gift

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A Final Gift

By Christina Porkert – Kinderhook, NY

I have been to Cesky Krumlov before – in fact, this was my fourth visit, and I knew of its beauty. But I never cease to be overwhelmed by it anew. I often took a stroll to the castle gardens in the early morning and marveled at the workers who, every morning, sweep all the cobblestone paths and rake the gravel courtyards of the entire castle complex – not a small task, I can assure you. And it was always done with such care, only to be walked over again by hundreds of visitors who may never know what special care had been taken to prepare the way for them.

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Reflections on the World Lyre Conference

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Reflections on the World Lyre Conference

By Elizabeth Howe – Langley Park, UK

What an unexpected and amazing gift to be sponsored to attend the 2022 World Lyre Conference by LANA member Norma Lindenberg, my friend for nearly 50 years. Work, family, and financial constraints have prevented my attendance at past conferences. I traveled for 32 hours on five trains, a coach, a bus, and a tram to get to Cesky Krumlov from Durham, England, but once I finally arrived, it was like a homecoming. Yes, there were a few familiar faces, but more than that, I found similar biographical journeys, connections through Camphill or Waldorf schools, and more. These days I live alone. I play the solo lyre and sing in hospitals, and there are no other lyrists within 200 miles. What a joy it was to play again with others, to feel carried in the music, to attend workshops and come to collective new insights together.

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Lyre 2022

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Lyre 2022

By Nancy Carpenter - Detroit, MI

The World Lyre Conference in Cesky Krumlov was a wonderful experience. I have missed playing with other lyre players over these past two years. There were benefits to having a smaller group than usual for an international conference, in that we were able to play together and have more personal conversations with international lyrists John Billing, Christian Giersch, Jan Braunstein, Martin Tobiassen, and John Clark as well as to get to know new friends. I met new LANA members Yee Ching from Malaysia and Elizabeth Howe from England. Our Czech hosts were graciously welcoming and accommodating of our every need. For example, Miroslav Klusák was up every morning at 7, making porridge, boiling eggs, and checking to be sure we all had enough to eat for breakfast and our snack breaks.

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The Essentials of the Lyre in Český Krumlov

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The Essentials of the Lyre in Český Krumlov

By Sheila Johns – Ecuador

After a long four-year hiatus, the experience of being in the exquisite, fairyland village of Český Krumlov provided an unforgettable portal back into the human and musical embrace of our world lyre community. Because we were fewer in number than in previous international gatherings, there seemed to be a heightened appreciation for the presence of each participant. Old friends and new acquaintances mingled in a warm, intimate circle as we began our initial pedagogy workshop that preceded the larger general conference. As Saeko Cohn has already beautifully described, this workshop, artfully led by Martin Tobiassen, was designed to be highly participatory, and by the end of the weekend, pearls of wisdom and important insights about the pedagogy of the lyre had been masterfully extracted from each and every participant.

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LANA's Annual Directors' Meeting

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LANA's Annual Directors' Meeting

July 17, 2022

In order to gather the entire LANA Board of Directors from around the country and South America, the 2022 Annual Directors' Meeting was held via video-conferencing. Members in attendance were:

Debbie Barford (IL), Diane Barnes (NY), Nancy Carpenter (MI), Julia Elliott (MA), Sheila Johns (Ecuador), Margo Ketchum (PA), Colleen Shetland (NY), and Sally Willig (NJ)

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A Special Birthday Celebration

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A Special Birthday Celebration

August 20, 2022 was the date of Christof-Andreas Lindenberg’s 90st birthday, but being in the midst of summer travel time, it was only on October 14/15 that the Lyre Association of North America organized a festive concert weekend in his honor. It was a mighty celebration, paying tribute in a variety of ways, to a long life dedicated to music and healing!

Eleven lyrists from across the US (Chicago, Illinois; Detroit, Michigan; Boston, Massachusetts; Central Virginia; as well as Ithaca, Chestnut Ridge, and Columbia County, New York) and abroad (Ecuador and Ireland) joined five local lyrists and several local singers to rehearse all day on Friday, followed by a dress rehearsal on Saturday morning in preparation for a concert performed that afternoon at the Karl Koenig Schoolhouse in Camphill School Beaver Run, the home of Christof-Andreas and his wife Norma for over 30 years. Not only the residential school community, but also many friends from nearby filled the hall on this beautiful autumn day to listen to a program of lyre and choral music composed by CAL over the past 70 years. The music was introduced by various performers as well as the composer himself, sharing the background or memories connected to individual pieces, which added colorful snippets of Christof-Andreas’s life to the program.

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A letter from Manfred Bleffert’s wife, Ulrike

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A letter from Manfred Bleffert’s wife, Ulrike

Dear LANA Board members and friends,

I am sorry for my delayed response to LANA’s inquiry about Manfred and me. We have both been ill over a long time this year and both have been in the hospital several times.

Last summer’s flood that destroyed our home has had a deep echo in our lives, but is becoming better now! In spite of everything, we have been working as usual whenever we could. Manfred is composing, painting, and working with clay, and I am teaching eurythmy as I did before.

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LANA Music Sales Report for July and August 2022

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For the month of July, LANA had a total of 18 sales and free downloads for members and friends in Brazil, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Three music books were sold in the US, and there were 6 paid downloads of John Billing’s Scales book.  In addition, there were 3 free downloads for the US, the UK, and Canada.

We also had 4 LANA membership renewals – two each from the US and Brazil.

For the month of August, LANA had a total of 48 sales combined with free downloads to members and friends in the US, Canada, Switzerland, Korea, Japan, the UK, Ireland, and the Netherlands.

Nine volumes of music and two books on music were sold to members and friends in the US in addition to two used books from the Kerry Lee Collection.  We had two paid music downloads for the US and Canada as well as 27 free music downloads for Korea, Japan, UK, US, Canada, Netherlands, Switzerland, Ireland.

We also had accessory sales of one tuning fork, one tuning wrench, and lyre strings in addition to two additional LANA membership renewals from the US.

Sally Willig, for LANA Music Sales

Seeking New Board Members

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Dear Members and Friends,

LANA is looking for prospective Board members who are aligned with the mission of the lyre in our time as expressed in LANA’s mission statement:

The Lyre Association of North America is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to initiate, to inspire, and to support the sounding of the lyre in artistic, pedagogical, and therapeutic activities in North America and throughout the world.

We are an active board, and members are asked to serve in various working groups as needed for the smooth running of our organization.

At present, the LANA Board working groups are organized by their connection to the designations of the Three-fold Social Order:

  • Cultural Realm: Events (Conference, Study, and Workshops), Publications, and Outreach (Website, Blog)

  • Economic Realm: Finance, Music Sales, and Lyre Rental program

  • Rights Realm: Membership, Lyre Connection program, and Governance 

In addition, LANA has a Coordinating Circle that consists of the officers and rotating Board members. The Coordinating Circle sets the agenda for our monthly Board meetings and establishes priorities for the organization’s work.

Each Board member is elected for a term of three years. Participation in monthly Zoom conference calls constitutes the major part of our collegial work. Communication for committee work is additional.

At this time, we are in need of someone interested in helping us in the Membership Working Group. Experience with spreadsheets, database management, etc. would be a plus to communicate with members and support new lyre players, though these skills are not required. 

If you are interested in learning more about the LANA Board of Directors and would consider becoming a member of our Board – or if you would be interested in being a non-board member of the Membership Working Group – please contact me at nancycarpenter680@gmail.com.

Nancy Carpenter, President
Lyre Association of North America
www.lyreassociation.org

Board members – Top: Diane, Margo, Nancy. Middle: Julia, Colleen, Debbie. Bottom: Sheila & Sally.

90th Birthday Celebration Weekend for Christof-Andreas Lindenberg

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Please join us for a weekend of choral and lyre music in celebration of Christof-Andreas Lindenberg’s 90th birthday! (Follow the link below for details and to register as a participant October 13-15, 2022.)

Read more: https://lyreassociation.org/events/90th-birthday-celebration-cal

Oct 15 Celebration for Christof-Andreas Lindenberg

Book Review: ''There is a Path: Music for Daily and Festival Occasions '' by Channa Seidenberg

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There is a Path: Music for Daily and Festival Occasions* by Channa Seidenberg is an amazing collection of music – a true classic. There are 54 compositions within its 75 pages, which are suitable for general use as well as within Camphill Communities, Christian Communities, or Waldorf School settings. These compositions may be enjoyed by small or large ensembles of singers, lyre players, and other instrumentalists. We could describe the exquisite vocal melodies Channa has composed, lilting and uplifting to sing. Or we could think of some of the inspiring lyrics: “Angels down to me are bending, always with me, they are ever caring, tending.…”  for an infant at a christening. Or we could examine the beautiful instrumental accompaniments for the vocal melodies. All of these aspects are present in this collection in abundance.

In addition to songs for christenings, there is a range of other occasions for which these songs are meant to be used: lullabies, mealtimes, birthdays, and seasonal festivals.

Beyond such riches, there are lyre accompaniments to support the voice and enrich the sound in various rounds and three- and four-part choir pieces. There are also pieces for bell choir, even with an added part for glockenspiel!

Dies ist Die Nacht, a famous German poem from as far back as 1683, has been set to music many times, and in this collection, Channa has added hers. Then there is a memorable setting of the well-known O Magnum Mysterium, a Latin piece that has been set by several prominent composers and sung by choirs throughout the world. Such an illustrious history didn’t hold Channa back – she composed her own lovely setting for this as well.

Extending her attention to modern poetry, she composed music to serve as prelude, interludes, and postlude to T. S. Eliot’s verse play The Rock, which refers to Christ as the Cornerstone. She also includes pieces with vocal parts for poems by Angelus Silesius, Sara Teasdale, W. B. Yeats, a Native American song, and musical settings of verses from Rudolf Steiner’s Calendar of the Soul. Quite a range!

In addition to composing, Channa brought music to residents of Camphill Village USA in Copake, New York over many years. During that time, she formed choirs as well as the renowned Camphill Village Ensemble, which performed numerous times at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall.  Her collection of pieces in There is a Path represents just a fraction of the music she composed for these groups and for other community occasions over several decades.

There is a path into the heart of things,
There is a gate to truth;
In morning light the way seems clear;
On starry nights the way seems sure;
In deepest love the way is found…

Book review by Colleen Shetland, Marcellus, NY
*Windrose Publishing and Educational Services of Rose Harmony Association, Inc. 1995.