Co-Creation

John is one of the most sought-after creative workshop leaders of his generation and loves making new work that brings professional and non-professional musicians together in radical ways. He has been lucky enough to work all over the world - from Brazil to Singapore - and has formed strong partnerships with many of the UK and Europe’s most pioneering Learning and Participation programmes - including Garsington Opera, ENO, Royal Opera House, Gothenburg Opera, Aurora Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Aldeburgh Music and Spitalfields Music. He has worked in schools, prisons, hospitals, care homes and early years centres - chanelling the creativity he finds there into exciting new work.

Recent projects have included Unseen for Streetwise Opera - a new multimedia installation devised during lockdown with people who have experienced or are currently experiencing homelessness (to be premiered later in 2021), Eurydice’s Song - a retelling of the Orpheus myth devised with young singers in Gothenburg and Earth Rise - created remotely during the first lockdown with young singers from ENO’s youth company.

John’s reflections on this aspect of his career are contained in his chapter of the book Beyond Britten - a major set of reflections by UK composers, arts practitioners and educators on the different ways in which composers work in their communities.

AURORA IN BRAZIL - a short documentary about John’s work in Brazil with Aurora orchestra, in which he worked with young musicians to make new work inspired by Bartok and Anna Meredith

EARTH RISE - a film made during lockdown with the ENO Youth Company, made using ZOOM (and multiple voice memos!)