Waldorf School Teacher Publishes Book

Diane Ingraham Barnes, an instructor at Housatonic Valley Waldorf School, 40 Dodgingtown Road, has written a new book, Music Through the Grades in Light of the Developing Child.

 The book was recently published and released by Adonis Press of Hillsdale, N.Y. It includes three CDs of the songs in the book. The book was specifically written for music teachers and/or class teachers looking for concepts, ideas, and materials for building a comprehensive music program in the Waldorf tradition. It contains songs appropriate for first through eighth grade with a short introduction to each grade and the corresponding developmental level of the child. Mrs Barnes has been teaching music for 22 years.

 Mrs Barnes graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music, and she began her music teaching career in the Palmer, Mass., public school system. While raising her two sons, she discovered Waldorf Education and completed the Waldorf teacher training at Rudolf Steiner College in Fair Oaks, Calif. It was there that she was introduced to Valborg Werbeck-Svärdström’s Uncovering the Voice approach to singing and the modern lyre, as well as a new understanding of music based on Rudolf Steiner’s Anthroposophy. She then became a class teacher and music teacher at the Susquehanna Waldorf School in Marietta, Penn., where she took the lead class from first through sixth grade and taught music in every grade for 12 years.

Mrs Barnes holds two diplomas for therapeutic singing from the School for Uncovering the Voice recognized by the Medical Section in Dornach, Switzerland. She also has opened the Uriel Center for Music in the Light of Anthroposophy, through which she offers voice, lyre, and music lessons/classes, therapies, music studies, and workshops at her home in Hillsdale. She also gives concerts when possible.

Mrs Barnes is also set to lead a workshop this Saturday, January 14, from 9 am to 5 pm called, “Music with Children,” at the school.

The workshop is part of the Waldorf at Home Series sponsored by the Housatonic Valley Waldorf School. The cost of the workshop is $120; some scholarships are available. For more information about the workshop call the school at 203-364-1113. The book can be purchased through Adonis Press www.adonispress.org for $30, which includes the book and CDs.