The StratREAL Foundation will provide financial assistance to the Royal Opera House Education (ROH Education) to launch a long-term teacher training programme to put singing back at the heart of schools’ musical activity, and to offer young people the opportunity to perform on a world-class operatic stage.

From September 2007 to 2009 ROH Education will embark on a large-scale, far-reaching singing project that aims to increase the profile and quality of singing and vocal instruction with young people.

Inspiring young people to find their voices

This multi-faceted project will constitute a major pledge from the Royal Opera House towards the Music Manifesto, a government-backed campaign to improve music education. The Royal Opera House and their education partners have identified that singing is one of the most direct and valid ways to improve music making and inspire young people to find their voices. By using and building upon the Royal Opera’s commitment to vocal excellence, ROH Education will enthuse and encourage the nation’s children to sing with their programme Voices of the Future.

Clapping handsTo make Voices of the Future sustainable, ROH Education will begin with a Continuing Professional Development training programme for teachers. With this approach ROH Education can thoroughly develop teachers’ skills and confidence as singing leaders, and ensure that these last throughout their teaching career, thus reaching thousands more young people beyond the duration of the initial project.


Funding from The StratREAL Foundation will be specifically targeted at establishing the Continuing Professional Development training programme. Over the course of the first three years, ROH Education will train over 72 teachers who in turn will reach over 1000 children. Participating teachers will remain on this programme for two years, receiving both formal training and informal support from ROH Artists and staff to encourage their creativity and develop their skills.

Working in partnership with other arts organisations

Working in partnership with arts organisations and education providers is vital to the success of ROH Education work and this project in particular. Key ROH Education partnerships already exist with the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust. For the Continuing Professional Development aspects of Voices of the Future, strategic partnerships have been established with Local Education Authorities, the Music Advisory Services of target areas, and similar organisations committed to promoting the value and importance of singing in schools

Creating a new commission

One of the most exciting aspects of the programme is the culmination of the project with the commission of a brand new vocal work for young people. The Royal Opera House will be the lead partner of a consortium of UK opera companies, to create a new work especially devised for young voices, to be performed across the UK.

Royal Opera House artists and staff will work with around ten schools in preparing for the special performance, and from September 2008 the participating children and their teachers will receive professional coaching and support as they rehearse and learn the new music.

For the Royal Opera House this work will premiere in March 2009 when over 250 children will join the professional Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House for a landmark public performance on the main stage at Covent Garden in London.