Children discover opera thanks to grant from Ann Maguire Arts Education Fund

Children in four Yorkshire schools are being introduced to opera and encouraged to create their own operatic works, thanks to a £10,000 donation from the Ann Maguire Arts Education Fund.

As part of Opera North's Young Explorers project, Pupils from Years 5 - 8 at New Bewerley Community School, Cookridge Holy Trinity School, Wetherby High School and Rodillian Academy in Wakefield have been exploring the music, characters and plot of Donizetti's The Elixir of Love in a series of workshops led by professional opera and music directors.

Under the guidance of conductor and composer Michael Betteridge, and actor, singer and director Freya Wynn-Jones, the children are being encouraged to engage creatively with opera in general and with The Elixir of Love in particular, whilst devising their own 'mini operas' based on Donizetti's work.

The students' parents have been invited to a special performance of the resulting dramas in the Howard Assembly Room in Leeds.

With a particular focus on writing stories and composing music, the students are also discovering all the other things that happen in an opera company, including costume design and production.

The sessions have been made possible due to a grant from the Ann Maguire Arts Education Fund which was created through donations made in memory of Ann Maguire, a school teacher from Leeds who was tragically murdered in her classroom in April 2014.

Coordinated by Leeds Community Foundation, the Fund provides bursaries and funding for the enhancement and personal development of young people under 18 years old through music, drama, language and dance.