The Fifth International Lyre Conference
“The Lyre and the Human Voice”
July 28–August 2 ~ Überlingen,Germany
The fifth international lyre conference will be held this summer at the Freien Waldorfschule am Bodensee in Überlingen, a town on Lake Constance (German: Bodensee) in southern Germany. Beginning with a concert on the evening of Saturday, July 28, and ending at midday on Thursday, August 2, the conference will feature three work groups each day for four days and public concerts in the evenings. There will also be time for “free initiatives” and, of course, lyre builders from around the world will be displaying their instruments.
Prior to the main gathering, there will be a conference for lyre teachers. (See more about this below.) And, after the main conference, there will be two additional days when we can participate in free initiatives or join in excursions in the region, which is extraordinarily rich in natural beauty and has sites of historical interest.
Much more information about Lyre 2012 can be found on the website www.lyre2012.com. (Click on the British flag on the far right of the web pages to access the English version.) This site already includes information about meals, housing and airports as well as a provisional schedule, and we will soon be able to use it to register online.
We do hope that many of you will be able to attend Lyre 2012, which will take the place of our usual summer conference. Anyone who has attended a prior international lyre conference can tell you what a unique, rich and valuable experience it is. Of course, the cost is an issue for many of us; see page 2 for more information about this.
Second International Lyre Pedagogy Conference ~ July 26-28
“Teaching the Lyre throughout the Stages of Life”
Immediately preceding the lyre conference in Germany—from the evening of July 26 through the morning of July 28—an international lyre pedagogy conference will take place.
With more than forty participants, the first meeting of lyre teachers from around the world in Sweden in 2009 was a great success. We are very enthusiastic about this second gathering of international colleagues and supporters of the lyre! We recognize that the future of the lyre will very much depend on the widespread availability of good teaching for new lyre enthusiasts. In that spirit, we welcome and encourage both new and seasoned teachers, as well as anyone who is interested in learning how to teach the lyre, to join us for this practical and important two-day meeting before the general conference begins.
This year's conference will feature full group presentations from international lyre teachers as well as smaller interest groups tailored to specific topics, ages, and stages. We plan to gather on our opening Thursday evening, July 26, for a general introduction to each other and sharing a bit of our work and/or our aspirations.
On Friday, we will offer six workshops on the following subjects. Each 90-minute workshop will run twice in the course of the day and will be presented by two different teachers (45 minutes each). Each participant will be able to choose four of the six workshops – one during each time slot.
- A Path to Begin Teaching the Lyre
- Lyre Work in Early Childhood
- Lyre Work with Middle and Upper School-Age Students
- Lyre Work with Beginning Adults
- Lyre Work with Special Needs Adults
- Leading a Lyre Group
Our schedule will be as follows:
9.00am Workshops 1,2,3 / 11.00am – Workshops 4,5,6
2.00pm – Workshops 1,2,3 / 4.00pm – Workshops 4,5,6
7.00pm – General Session focused on Improvisation
On Saturday morning, we will turn to the challenges and opportunities of our future work as lyre teachers, how we can support each other, as well as the future of our work with young people.
For more information, see www.lyre2012.com or contact Sheila Johns (sjohns123@earthlink.net).
Making Lyre 2012 Financially Possible
When airfares are high and the state of the economy is low, finding the courage, much less the funds, to make the trip to Germany for Lyre 2012 presents a special challenge for many. Can we meet this challenge? Can we use this situation as an opportunity to affirm our valuation of the lyre and the community that surrounds it? The Board of the Lyre Association believes that we can meet this challenge by helping each other, as we have for past international conferences
- Donating and raising money. If you are able, please donate money to help those who want to attend but can’t afford all the costs. We also encourage you and your colleagues to find ways to raise money that would either be sent to the Lyre Association or used to directly support one or more lyrists in your community. Traditionally, a benefit concert has been the favorite way of doing this. But there are innumerable other ways, anything from a bake sale to applying for a grant. Use your imagination!
To send your personal tax-deductible donations or forward funds you have raised, please mail checks (payable to "LANA" and designated for the "Lyre 2012 Travel Fund") to LANA c/o Embrey, PO Box 96, Piney River, VA 22964. LANA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
- Requesting financial assistance. Any money given to the Lyre Association will be distributed on the same basis that we have used in the past, that is, on the basis of need. If you want to attend Lyre 2012 but wouldn't be able to without financial assistance, please e-mail Samantha Embrey at sembrey@verizon.net or send a letter to us (at the address given above) giving a brief description of your circumstances and specifying how much you need. We will do our best to honor all requests.
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