Supporting healthy Waldorf music education everywhere!

News & Events

Opportunities of many kinds are taking place here in the U.S. and throughout the world. Conferences, courses and employment opportunities are coming and going and change frequently, so be sure to check back from time to time. Don’t miss the latest news and notifications of upcoming programs. And, of course, if you have any conferences, courses or employment opportunities that you would like to see on our site, please send them in for consideration! Visuals, such as flyers or brochures are helpful to accompany the news item.

Jul
9
Sun
The 18th Annual Summer Music Conference @ Michael Fields Agricultural Institute
Jul 9 @ 5:30 pm – Jul 14 @ 1:30 pm

Michael Fields Agricultural Institute

Sponsored by the Association for Waldorf Music Education

with guest presenter Christiaan Boele
Michael Fields Agricultural Institute
July 9-14, 2017

For music teachers, early childhood and class teachers, parents, administrators—all are welcome!

~ Singing as a New Means for (Self-)Education ~

Founding a new musical culture as an answer to the needs of our time

The Association for Waldorf Music Education is very pleased to have the opportunity this summer of 2017 to host our annual summer music conference with master teacher, Christiaan Boele in beautiful southeastern Wisconsin, at the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute in East Troy, Wisconsin from Sunday afternoon, July 9 through Friday morning, July 14.

christiaan boeleChristiaan Boele brings his vast knowledge and expertise in the Werbeck method of singing and voice work to our summer conferences in 2017! Christiaan travels around the world from his home in Europe, giving trainings, workshops and classes that focus on the proper use of the voice, its potential, and its healing power in our lives. He has trained with those who studied with famed vocalist, Valborg Werbeck-Svärdström herself (who worked with Rudolf Steiner), and has for many years, continued this approach to healthy singing and voice work that according to Steiner, can offer a major contribution to the future evolution of humanity.

During the conferences, Christiaan will be available during the week to offer individual 45-minute voice lessons to participants wishing to deepen their own personal voice work for a fee of $65 per lesson. Cash only will be accepted, and will be paid to Christiaan directly at the time of the lesson. If you are interested, please note this when you register, or as soon as possible during the conference, as these slots will fill up fast! His cancellation policy requires that if someone cancels, for any reason, he expects payment for the full cost of the lessons. The ONLY exception is if you are able to find another person to take your lesson time!

During the conference, we will also be covering many other topics of interest such as: instrumental music in the Waldorf curriculum, specific grade-related repertoire and activities (songs, movement, games, etc.), and Spacial Dynamics. There will be an evening of music presentations we have worked on together, and/or individually, to share with one another and the larger community.

Conference Fee:

$450 for AWME members ($40 discount!); $490 for non-members, everyone after May 31st

For more questions or information, please contact Andrea Lyman.

________________________________________________________________________

REGISTER NOW! – We welcome all registrations through the deadline June 15, 2017.

Jul
7
Sun
The 19th Annual Summer Music Conference CANCELLED @ Waldorf School of Orange County
Jul 7 @ 5:30 pm – Jul 12 @ 1:30 pm

conference 2019 event header

Sponsored by the Association for Waldorf Music Education

Waldorf School of Orange County
July 7-12, 2019

For music teachers, early childhood and class teachers, parents, administrators—all are welcome!

~ The Journey of Waldorf Music Education ~

Meeting the challenges of both new and experienced teachers

In its 19th year, the 2019 Waldorf Summer Music Conference will offer a journey through the grades and high school, 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.

Our work together will explore the what, when, how, and why of what we do, and how it meets each stage of the child’s development. Included in this spectrum will be hands-on experience with the instruments we use in our curriculum, a deeper look at Rudolf Steiner’s indications for bringing music to children, alternatives to traditional ensemble work, the changing voice, and more! There will also be dedicated sessions to address the questions, concerns, and special interests of both new and experienced teachers. For our own development as well as for enhancing and supporting our work in the classroom, our days will be rounded out with Werbeck vocal exercises and choral work in addition to movement and games.

What to bring:

Since we will be including hands-on instrumental work, we ask participants to bring Choroi interval flutes, pentatonic flutes, diatonic/C-flutes, recorders of any voicing, kinderharps, or bordun lyres, if possible. We will also have some instruments available to borrow at the school, but please bring whatever you have, and extras to share, if possible!

On Thursday evening, July 11th, we will have our traditional music sharing for the larger community, and everyone is welcome to attend! For this occasion, participants are invited to bring any and all instruments to make music to share with each other as well as extra copies of sheet music if you would like to prepare something with others.

This year’s facilitators:

Sheila Johns taught music for 14 years at the Washington Waldorf School in Bethesda, Maryland where she served in a variety of capacities, including mentoring other music teachers. She teaches courses in the mood of the fifth and has developed a curriculum for working with the pentatonic children’s lyre for Grades 1-3 as well as for an applied music course for Grades 7/8. In addition to her work in the U.S., she also gives a variety of music courses and workshops in South America and in China. Sheila serves as president of the Lyre Association of North America and has trainings in both instrumental and vocal anthroposophic music therapy. She is the author of a number of articles on music and the developing child and is currently editing several translations of related publications in English. She has been a carrying member of AWME for the last 10 years.

Andrea Lyman has been a Waldorf music teacher since 1992, has taught music courses at Sunbridge College, Waldorf Institute of Southern California, and Sound Circle Center. She has been an adjunct faculty member of the West Coast Institute in Vancouver, BC since 2011. In addition to evaluating and mentoring Waldorf music teachers and faculties throughout North America and offering online mentoring for individuals around the world, Andrea also gives courses and workshops in South America, China, Philippines and Malaysia. She has authored several articles on the Waldorf music curriculum and has served as president of AWME since its inception in 2001.

Conference Fee:

$455 for AWME members ($40 discount!)
$455 for non-members before April 30th; $495 thereafter

For more questions or information, please contact Andrea Lyman.

________________________________________________________________________

We regret to inform you that we did not receive our minimum number of registrations by neither the first nor extended deadlines. We have certain costs involved for any conference, and must set a minimum number of participants to make it viable. As a result, we will not be going forward with our AWME music conference this summer.

We will consequently refund your conference registration payment in full, intending to return the funds to you on Wednesday (May 29). If there is an issue or some other unforeseen need, we will contact you. If you registered—but did not yet make payment—we cannot count this to be a completed registration, nor can we include into our minimum number count those who have said they hoped to register sometime soon.

Please know that much consideration will go into re-imagining and redesigning of both our conference, and the way we get out the notifications. We hope you will again consider us next year in 2020, when we plan to have the next AWME conference. Hopefully, many more colleagues will attend and make for a richer and more rewarding conference!

REGISTER NOW! – We accept all registrations through our final deadline of May 24, 2019.

Feb
29
Sat
Tonalis: Music, Nature, & Environment – Part 1 Seasons & Festivals in Music @ The Field Centre
Feb 29 @ 10:00 am – Mar 11 @ 5:00 pm

This course will ask questions such as:
·       How can musicians make a constructive contribution to the deep environmental questions of our time through the creation of eco-centric music?
·       How can music be based on a profound relationship to nature?
·       How can we create music with nature’s orchestra of instruments?
·       How can we move beyond mere self-expression in music to reimagine and recreate our relationship with the planet?
·       How can we live in harmony with the seasons and the cycle of the year in music, so that we can make the mood of each seasonal festival audible in music in order that each season is met by matching qualities in music?

This new training course is divided into two parts:
Part 1 Seasons & Festivals in Music – February 29 – March 1 & April 10 – 11

Part 2 Nature’s Music, the Soundscape & Acoustic Ecology – May 2 – 3 & May 30 – 31

You can join these 2 parts independently. Early booking discount closes January 15th. Here’s the link to the brochure: http://tonalismusic.co.uk/images/pdfs/Music_Nature_and_Environment_training.pdf

Apr
16
Thu
Tonalis: ‘Singing for Health and Wellbeing’ – New Paradigms in Singing Therapy @ The Field Centre
Apr 16 @ 10:00 am – Apr 19 @ 5:00 pm

The overall duration of this course is 21 days made up of 7 Modules over one year
which take place in Half Terms and Holidays.

This training is being offered in collaboration with Ruskin Mill Educational Trust.
The VENUE will be The Field Centre, nr. Nailsworth, GLOS.

N.B. We now have 12 applicants,
but we also have quite a number of people considering joining the training,
so do get in touch with us soon
– by January 31st at the latest –
if you would like to join it too, because numbers are limited.

You’ll find that this thought provoking and ear opening course
offers you training in a broader and deeper view of
the POWER OF SINGING FOR HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
in ways that will change the way you
HEAR,
FEEL and
THINK
ABOUT SINGING.

Who will benefit from the Training?
1) people wanting to explore the role of ‘singing therapy’
in their own LEARNING, PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT and HEALING
and
2) singing teachers, music and sound therapists who want to
bring therapeutic perspectives on singing into their practice.

It’s dedicated to giving you the skills to improve health and well-being
and can be taken for Personal, Vocal & Vocational Development

The first module dates are 16 – 19 April 2020.
For the subsequent dates please see the pdf website link:
http://tonalismusic.co.uk/images/pdfs/Singing_for_Health_Training.pdf
or for more details please email Tonalis to request the brochure.

May
2
Sat
Tonalis: Music, Nature, & Environment – Part 2 Nature’s Music, the Soundscape, & Acoustic Ecology @ The Field Centre
May 2 @ 10:00 am – May 3 @ 5:00 pm

This course will ask questions such as:
·       How can musicians make a constructive contribution to the deep environmental questions of our time through the creation of eco-centric music?
·       How can music be based on a profound relationship to nature?
·       How can we create music with nature’s orchestra of instruments?
·       How can we move beyond mere self-expression in music to reimagine and recreate our relationship with the planet?
·       How can we live in harmony with the seasons and the cycle of the year in music, so that we can make the mood of each seasonal festival audible in music in order that each season is met by matching qualities in music?

This new training course is divided into two parts:
Part 1 Seasons & Festivals in Music – February 29 – March 1 & April 10 – 11

Part 2 Nature’s Music, the Soundscape & Acoustic Ecology – May 2 – 3 & May 30 – 31

You can join these 2 parts independently. Early booking discount closes January 15th. Here’s the link to the brochure: http://tonalismusic.co.uk/images/pdfs/Music_Nature_and_Environment_training.pdf

Jul
12
Sun
2020 AWME Summer Music Conference @ Kimberton Waldorf School
Jul 12 @ 5:30 pm – Jul 17 @ 1:00 pm

Dear friends and colleagues,

As you know, May 15 was our deadline for registering for the early bird discount, and the date by which we were going to determine if we had enough registered participants to hold the 2020 AWME summer music conference. We have been hopeful that things would change by this summer, and that we would be able to move forward with the conference. In light of the COVID-19 situation and the transportation challenges that are our reality right now, we feel that for these reasons, we must postpone the conference. In light of so many uncertainties at this time, we do not feel that it is prudent to hold the conference this summer, and so we intend to have this conference next year, in the summer, of 2021 (specific dates yet to be determined). We are not actually cancelling the conference we planned this year, but simply moving it to next summer when we hope things will have allowed such gatherings to take place safely and more conveniently for everyone.

Many of you have asked about whether or not we would, or could, do this conference online. The difficulty with this is that what we are doing happens to be all about listening, and playing various instruments to cultivate our awareness of the new instruments and how we might use them in our work as Waldorf music educators. Also, the movement and choral singing we would do, really requires us to be present in real time, and doesn’t translate so well using the internet. So for now, we will postpone the conference until 2021.

Thank you for your patience in waiting to hear about information regarding the conference or if it’s even happening in some form or another. We appreciate your interest, and eagerly look forward to seeing all of in even greater numbers next year!

Please continue to visit our Facebook page and website – don’t forget, there is a special Forum (Colleagues’ Corner) for AWME members to communicate and share, in addition to the file sharing page, so let’s revive these and use them to connect with each other as best we can during these difficult times.

Wishing you all good health and joyful music making!

2020 AWME Summer Music Conference [pre-COVID-19] @ Kimberton Waldorf School
Jul 12 @ 5:30 pm – Jul 17 @ 1:00 pm

conference 2020 event header

Sponsored by the Association for Waldorf Music Education

Kimberton Waldorf School
July 12-17, 2020

For music teachers, early childhood and class teachers, parents, administrators—all are welcome!

Movement ~ Sound ~ Music

Working with New Instruments in Waldorf Music Education
toward developing a new future-bearing listening

with master teacher Veronika Roemer

In our 18th year of the AWME Summer Music Conference, we will work together with metal instruments (gongs, rods, cymbals, and others), stringed instruments (lyres, including pentatonic and bordun lyres, psalteries, chrottas), wind instruments (C-flutes, pentatonic flutes, gemshorns, ocarinas), and percussion instruments (drums, rattles, etc.). Our process will be based on the work of Reinhild Brass (Hörwege entdecken) and Gerhard Beilarz (Musik in Pädagogik und Therapie, and Erziehen und heilen durch Musik), which focus on new methods in music pedagogy and therapy, as is possible with these new instruments.

We often speak about “playing music”. These new instruments give us the possibility to truly play—to playfully explore the unlimited possibilities of sound and music which they offer to anyone who is willing to listen with “new ears.”

This year’s conference will also offer a closer look at what stands behind the Waldorf music curriculum. Bringing ‘the right thing at the right time’ is the hallmark of Waldorf education, and the music curriculum reflects this profound pedagogy. Our work together will explore the what, when, how, and why of what we do, and how it meets each stage of the child’s development, including a deeper look at Rudolf Steiner’s indications for bringing music to children. There will also be sessions dedicated to questions and answers, and for our own development as well as for enhancing and supporting our work in the classroom, our days will be rounded out with Werbeck vocal exercises and choral work.

Since we will be including hands-on instrumental work, we ask participants to bring Choroi interval flutes, pentatonic flutes, diatonic/C-flutes, recorders of any voicing, children’s lyres, or bordun lyres, if possible. We will also have some instruments available to borrow at the school, but please bring whatever you have, and extras to share, if possible!

On Thursday evening, we will have our traditional music sharing for the larger community – everyone is welcome to attend! For this occasion, participants are invited to bring any and all instruments to make music to share with each other as well as extra copies of sheet music if you would like to prepare something with others.

This year’s facilitators are:

Veronika RoemerOur guest presenter, Veronika Roemer, is a professional violist, pianist, lyrist, and Seminar Music Teacher at The Camphill School, Glenmoore, PA. She also teaches musical renewal in China, Hungary, and North America. Veronika has spent many years studying sound and its healthy cultivation for both children and adults. She is eager to share with us the results of her work with international colleagues on this subject as well as her own experiences as a lyrist and multifaceted musician and teacher.

Andrea LymanAndrea Lyman has been a Waldorf music teacher since 1992, has taught music courses at Sunbridge College, Waldorf Institute of Southern California, Sound Circle Center, and has been an adjunct faculty member of the West Coast Institute in Vancouver, BC since 2011. In addition to evaluating and mentoring Waldorf music teachers and faculties throughout North America, Andrea also gives courses and workshops in South America and Asia, and is the Director of the Waldorf Teacher Training programs in both China and the Philippines. She has authored several articles on the Waldorf music curriculum, and has served as president of AWME since its inception in 2001.

Sheila JohnsSheila Johns taught music for 14 years at the Washington Waldorf School in Bethesda, Maryland. She teaches courses in the Mood of the Fifth and has developed a curriculum for working with the pentatonic children’s lyre for grades 1-3 as well as for an applied music course for grades 7/8. She gives courses in South America and Asia and is part of the carrying faculty of the Waldorf Music Teacher Training programs in China and the Philippines. Sheila served as president of the Lyre Association of North America for 12 years and has trainings in both instrumental and vocal anthroposophic music therapy. She has also been a carrying member of AWME for the last 12 years.

Conference Fee:

$455 for AWME members ($40 discount!)
$455 for non-members before May 15th; $495 thereafter

For more questions or information, please contact Andrea Lyman.

________________________________________________________________________

Conference Details:

Costs for housing, meals, and transportation are additional. View the many suggested lodging options here.

All morning and afternoon snacks as well as dinner on our first evening will be provided by AWME. Meal plans will be available for purchase (see registration form below).

The conference will begin on Sunday, July 12th at 5:30 pm with registration, a simple shared meal (provided by AWME), and our official opening. The conference will end midday the following Friday, July 17th.

________________________________________________________________________

REGISTER NOW! – Deadline for receiving minimum participant registrations through June 15, 2020.

Jul
25
Sat
Tonalis: The Celtic Choir @ The Field Centre
Jul 25 @ 10:00 am – Jul 28 @ 5:00 pm

Weave spellbinding tapestries of sound into songs of enchantment from the mountains and glens of Scotland to the Hebridean Islands and the mysteries of Celtic Ireland.

So come and sing your heart out on what is sure to be an unforgettable course.
Dates: July 25 – 28

Aug
29
Sat
Tonalis: New Social and Therapeutic Impulses in Music Education, in Schools, & Special Needs Education @ The Field Centre
Aug 29 @ 10:00 am – Sep 1 @ 5:00 pm

A new Tonalis Foundation training in collaboration with Ruskin Mill.
21 Days over 1 year, in 6 Modules in half-terms and holidays.

Starting at the end of August 2020.

Sep
1
Tue
Tonalis: Voice Colours and Styles in Choral Singing @ The Field Centre
Sep 1 @ 10:00 am – Sep 4 @ 5:00 pm

We will also be offering 2 weekend workshops to help both choir singers and choir leaders learn to sing with the appropriate musical style and vocal timbre that belongs to idioms such as Renaissance, Bulgarian or Gospel music, etc., without which essential features of the musical meaning are lost.

Through all the discoveries you’ll make
these workshops will EXPAND for you the COLOUR WORLD of CHOIR SINGING.

On WORKSHOP 1 we’ll explore the glorious diversity of styles and colours found in WORLD VOICINGS and FOLK CHORAL IDIOMS

On WORKSHOP 2 we’ll explore i) EARLY MUSIC from Medieval, Renaissance  and  Baroque Choral music to ii) CLASSICAL, ROMANTIC and CONTEMPORARY Choral Styles

You’ll be able to choose between coming on both the workshops, or to just one of them. Dates: to be announced shortly.