Through most of the 80's and 90's I worked for the Royal Opera's Education Department in a series of innovative projects which brought professional expertise into schools - not just with one-off workshops, but with long term collaboration in view. More often than not, these projects would integrate with the curriculum and infiltrate many subject areas besides music. The students had a large hand in composing, research, story-writing, set and costume design - and, of course, acting, singing and playing.

These simple operas, as I call them, are the results of this work, which has continued to 2001. They are suitable for schools, amateurs and communities.

Commissioned by the Royal Opera House for performance by young people, The Button Moulder is a full-length work for large forces. It is a re-working of Ibsen's Peer Gynt and was enthusiastically received when first performed in Northamptonshire in 1990.

Another full-length piece (2001) is The Dream That Hath No Bottom, which evolved out of curriculum work at Key Stage 2, weaving together strands from Shakespeare and the history of Elizabethan England.

In between are works based on the Iron Age (The Triumph of Lugh), the Victorians (The Paupers' Revenge), The Anglo-Saxons (The Treasure and a Tale), modern European history (The Fall of the Wall), and the Medieval Mystery Plays (The News from the World).

All these pieces

• have an accessible musical style - BUT they do not attempt to promote a view of what music should or should not sound like; the sound world is not predictable in a worn-out sense, nor does it aim at imitating popular musicals, instead it aims to challenge participants and audiences alike.
• have vocal parts which are well-suited to young performers
• have instrumental parts often based on patterns designed to be learnt by heart, particularly by players of percussion instruments of the kind commonly found in schools. The published format takes the form of a vocal score, leaving the orchestration to individual requirements.

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