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Lecturers/Workshop-leaders



Christian Giersch

(Germany)

Christian Giersch studied sacred music and composition in Stuttgart, Germany, after that studied lyre since 1978 with several teachers, including Julius Knierim. He worked as waldorf teacher at Michael Bauer Schule, Stuttgart from 1982 until 2014. After finishing the work at school together with Martin Tobiassen he founded the "International summer academy for artistic lyre playing" at Seehaus castle, Germany, which takes place yearly since 2018. The genesis of living tone by movement and breathing is the permanent subject of his musical work in many courses, concerts and compositions for the lyre in all settings.  

Susanne Heinz

(Germany)

Susanne Heinz is Music therapist in Munich. She was studied first Music with guitar and piano, then she studied in the Free Music School for 3 years.
She wrote the Einführung in das Leierspiel. Available in Japanese and German.
She founded and was conductor of the lyre-orchestra in Munich. Gives concerts (many times with Nobuko Izumoto) and seminars for the lyre in Japan, China and South Korea.
Now in pandemic time she is writing arrangements and own pieces for her pupils.

John Clark

(Ireland)

 John Clark is a curative teacher, musician and music therapist living and working in community in Ireland.

He has been playing lyre for more than 50 years having completed his Curative Education Seminar in Camphill and 3 year music therapy training under C-A Lindenberg and U. Schroeder

Beside working and playing music composed specially for lyre he has a strong interest in extending the boundaries of lyre playing to include instruments and music not usually associated with lyre repertoire.

John Billing

(Ireland)


John met the lyre as a volunteer in a Camphill therapeutic home in 1977. He has partly studied music therapy and has taught music in Waldorf schools in Australia. He began a career as solo lyre performer in 1995 traveling through Northern Europe and in the USA , Australia, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
In recent years he spent a lot of time teaching intensively in many cities in China just as the boom in Waldorf education and lyre-playing was on the rise.
John continues to compose new music for lyre and arrange traditional music of the British Isles and Ireland.
He is still touring with solo and collaborative concerts and teaching.

Susann Temperli

(Switzerland)

 Susann Temperli, born 1952 in Zurich, studied at the Independent Music School, worked at Michaelshof Hepsisau as a musician in collaboration with Julius Knierim. Many years of activities in social therapy CH in the areas of care, music, training and further education. At the same time music lessons at a kindergarden seminary, at a curative education seminary and at a Rudolf Steiner school. Since 2018 initiativ in the founding and the reponsability oft the Lyre Network Switzerland together with Marianne Gammeter. Participation in various lyre ensembles and individual lyre lessons.

Gunhild von Kries

(Germany)

Gunhild von Kries is a musician, working for further development of music out of anthroposophy since 1979 through the research of the musical elements, silence, and inventing a new kind of string instrument. She published the book "Aus Liebe zur Musik" (For the Love of Music). 

Yael Barak

(Israel)

Yael Barak, music therapist, lyre teacher, head manager of Tal Hama - an anthroposophic therapeutic multi-disciplinary center for cancer patients in Harduf, Israel. She is combining nature study (B.Sc in Biology) and music therapy (certificate from TLV training and an Anthroposophic certificate of arts therapy) to a living approach for music activity with children in all ages, adults and cancer patients.

Yael has studied lyre playing with Ms. Anna-Marie Loring and was teaching adults and children since 1994. She is the founder, together with Mrs. Marlise Maurer, of the Bat Kol first Anthroposophic Music Therapy training in Israel.


Hartmut Reuter

(Germany)

Studied classical guitar and sung in choirs since 1964. Lived in Guatemala for 9 months in 1977-1978. Attended the Wanderstudium Freie Musik Schule 1981/1982/1983. Waldorf class teacher and music teacher from 1984 until 2002. In his projekt Klangbus he is a visitor's guide within the land of sound. He is a tourist-guide in the kingdom of audibility, instrument inventor and instrument maker. 

Martin Tobiassen

(Germany)

Martin Tobiassen, joined the "Independent Music School" in the early 1980's, learning with teachers as Annemarie Loring, Elly Berner, Pär Ahlbom, Julius Knierim, Lothar Reubke, Jürgen Schriefer and Norbert Visser. Since 1985 he worked as a music teacher and from 2003 to 2016 at Witten/Annen teacher training. Guest lecturer at the teacher training Kassel and the Freie Hochschule Stuttgart. Since 2021 coordinating the "Leier Pädagogik Ausbildung" in Germany together with Christian Giersch, Hsin-Chieh Lee and Gundolf Kühn. Member of the Lyre-Eurythmy-Group "Klanglicht-Ensemble" with Nicola Anasch and Tobias Maurer.

Andrea Schade

(Switzerland)

 Andrea Schade was born in 1968 in Munich, Germany. Music has always been an important complement of the profession and part of life, choral singing, playing the flute, the piano and the harp-lyre.The motivation was to build a bridge with music, so that healing can take place among people. From 1987 - 1999 Andrea Schade lived and worked in institutions for socialtherapy in Beth Eliyahu, Israel and in La Branche, SwitzerlandThere she learned to guide music groups and create a precious atmosphere with music. She learned to play the lyre with melodies from the Shabbat liturgy.In 1992- 1993 she studied at the 'Freie Musikschule', Bad Boll.1999 - 2002 Andrea Schade studied naturopathy and received her degree in 2002. In 2003 she started to work as a naturopath in Klosterlechfeld, Germany, discovering the aspect of healing . She played flute in pilgrimage festivals, mostly classical music.Since 2017 she has lived and worked in Heim Sunnegg , Bern, Switzerland.

Christina Porkert

(USA)

 Christina Porkert was introduced to the lyre in 1989 during her studies to become an anthroposophic music therapist at the Musiktherapeutische Arbeitsstätte in Berlin. In 2001 she was invited to the US to cofound the 'Dorion School of Music Therapy'. She lives currently in upstate NY and divides her time between teaching and performing (on cello and lyre) as well as rehabilitating and training horses, where listening, timing, a feel for rhythm, as well as the art of 'being in the presence' is equally important as in playing the lyre!

Thomas Leinz

(Germany)

Thomas Leinz works as lyre teacher at the waldorf schol Filstal. Gives lessons and workshops for children as well as adults and performs in various ensembles, e.g. Trio 2003, Project "The Art of Fugue".

Jan Braunstein 

(Czech Republic)

Jan Braunstein brings his experience as a waldorf teacher, music therapist, lyre teacher, conductor, freelance musician and lyre innovator. He gives lessons and workshops and performances (mostly as a solist) around the world. He is the founder of Ateliér Délos.


Anna Cooper

(USA)

Having trained as a Music specialist teacher, she worked in Australia and N. Ireland before meeting the lyre. She taught in a Steiner/Waldorf school as Music specialist for 16 years, and then for 20+ years as a full time lyre player, teacher, and director in hospitals, hospices, Camphill communities, schools, and private lessons. She also travelled to many countries teaching the lyre. She has published three lyre books with Upper Esk Music, and continue writing for the lyre, teaching, and performing.

Thea Kaesbach

(Switzerland)

 Working at Michael Hall Rudolf Steiner school as a eurythmist and Eurythmy therapist.

Teaching for 30 years in the teacher training Eurythmy ,and Early Years Kindergarden training Eurythmy and lyre playing in Rudolf Steiner House London. Giving courses for many years in the international Whitsun conference of the Bund der Waldorfkindergärten in Hannover. Giving courses in Portugal, Brasil, Korea, Taiwan, Philippins, China in Eurythmy and on theme of musical education in the first seven years. Since 2019 move to Dornach in Switzerland. Active as a eurythmist, Eurythmy therapist and lyre player in the Early Years education.

Hana Adamcová

(Czech Republic)

Study social therapy and medical pedagogy, a study of eurythmy and medical eurythmy, master's study of therapeutic eurythmy at Alanus Hochschule. Twelve years of teaching experience in Waldorf schools, ten years of organizing IPMT conferences in Český Krumlov, fourteen years of professional experience in medical eurythmy. Co-founder of Eurythmea and the Association for Anthroposophical Medicine, international coordinator of therapeutic eurythmy in the Medi China section at Goethean.

Helena Hlaváčková (Bartošová) 

(Czech Republic)

Helena Hlaváčková (Bartošová) is a Waldorf teacher, therapist, and lyre teacher. She graduated from the Prague Conservatory - Lyre, Music under the direction of J. Braunstein, J. Chromeček, and Z.Dvořák and also studied Music Therapy at the Tabor Academy under Josef Krček and Voice Therapy at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. She teaches the lyre and art of qigong and tai-chi in Prague.