Stories Through Sound: Opera for Early Years 

In partnership with the Southampton & Isle of Wight Music Hubs, we will run a series of collaborative workshops with children from Reception to Year 2 in five schools on the Isle of Wight (including SEND specialist school Medina House) to generate material for a new opera for early years inspired by the picture book Flotsam by David Wiesner.  

Working together with teachers these workshops will use a co-creative approach, blending music-making with visual art and design. This project is a key component of a broader strategy to integrate opera into early years music curriculums, and to explore the long-term benefits of music and opera for children's creativity and their appreciation for the arts. Our aim is to both build teachers' confidence in delivering creative music activities and generate material for a new opera for early years, which will be performed in schools and theatres across the UK in Autumn 2026. 

Timeline

• June 2025 – workshops  

• September 2025 – workshops  

• January 2026 – workshops  

• June 2026 - final commission deadline 

• Autumn 2026 (around October half term) – rehearsals/tech/theatre opening 

• October/November – two-week schools tour in partnership with South Coast Music Partnership