I get involved in workshops in a variety of ways. Sometimes I am asked as a performer in a particular production to take part in an associated workshop to lead a section on singing; at other times, my role is to sing as a colleague in, say, a children's opera and to help with the many tasks of putting on that production. I am also asked to give workshops with other professionals, sharing ideas and techniques, or to develop the singing and music in a particular environment. I am a member of the Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM) and of MusicLeader and follow its Code of Practice.

Please do get in touch if you would like a Curriculum Vitae emailed or posted.

Projects I am currently involved with:

With fellow vocalists Audrey Lawrence-Mattis, Chantelle Codner, Fox and Ciaran Ryan, we introduced the workshop of educational practitioners to an array of ideas and techniques which spanned classical, gospel, MC and BeatBox styles. In the three hours we created a piece of music with episodes of each style linked by a tutti section of a two-note, two-vowel improvisation and other vocal sound effects.

With the idea that our creativity is based in "being free to be who we are when we walk through the door" and taking the tale of The Handless Maid, six singers, a director/librettist and a composer are both developing the opera of The Handless Maid and researching the needs of disabled singers in the production of a chamber opera. The discovery and resolution of what arises will be presented to the national opera companies to aid adaption of mainstream opera to disabled singers.

Working with Drake Training, the Manchester music service, Royal Northern College of Music and others, we are in the process of developing the Zion Ensemble. This is a workshop arena in which 11-19s can make music with the primary purposes of uniting musical backgrounds and developing musical leadership. It follows the successful Guildhall School of Music and Drama's "Connect". Paul Griffiths from that programme ran a weekend course in January for the ten or so music leaders involved, giving ideas of how to develop the Zion Ensemble and methods of doing so.

Class 4 (Years 5-6): Seeing the world through other childrens' eyes

Working with a class of about 30 and their teacher, we are using their school topic as a starting point and developing a song from twenty photos of children living lives very different from life in Padfield.

As the basis for the creation of their song, they are learning four songs of different style chosen to reach into other areas of their school topics. "It's a long way to Tipperary" is from the wars of the twentieth century. It could well have been sung by young soldiers not much older than themselves, perhaps the age of an older brother, marching to war. "La Chiquitibum" is the Mexican national sporting chant, in particular used at the football World Cup. This refers back to last term's topic: The Aztecs. "Old Joe has gone fishing" is from Britten's opera "Peter Grimes" where the fishing community hound Grimes to his death through unsubstantiated claims of bullying and manslaughter of his apprentices. The fourth song is from "Oliver", the song of the workhouse boys, "Food, glorious food". These songs all have at the heart of them the binding of a community, they maintain morale and sustain physical activity.

In writing a song developed from these pieces, we wish to develop the class's imagination and empathy, the range of musical styles, ability to play rhythms and sing in more than two parts, to play musical instruments and sing in ensemble, to understand the idea of the aural tradition, increase the ability to read musical notation and the reason for notation.

Past projects:

In a series of four workshops in each school, with a team of six singers, a choreographer, a director and the project leader, we explore the music and drama of the opera Don Giovanni. I sing the role of Don Giovanni. The participants listen to arias and ensembles from the opera, discuss what the characters are saying and feeling, what the music might be saying. We discuss the setting of the opera, its themes of class, Catholicism and the libertine in sixteenth century Spain. We consider the significance of the imminent French revolution to the opera's creators, da Ponte and Mozart. The participants recreate Don Giovanni's party dancing the Minuet, the Gavotte and the Contredanse, simultaneously, accompanied by fellow-pupils on their musical instruments. They interview the characters, provide cut-outs of ladies for Leporello's list, they direct the singers in different scenes, they sing in the opera's final scene. It is a stimulating set of workshops. Portraying Giovanni, I have been constantly challenged in my actions, manner and motivation. As a member of the team, I am thrilled by the ability and willingness of the participants to share their ideas about the story, to open up with their meaning and understanding of the music and to discuss subjects that are often close to their hearts as well as those which are new territory to them.

One of a sequence of one-off returns to the choir to cover a rehearsal. They were working on Bruckner motets for the first time. A choir of about 70 teenagers, some of whom had been rehearsing in orchestra and wind band as well that day, which comes to the rehearsal with energy, grit and wit. I introduced some Pilates-style exercises they can do anywhere and particularly prior to singing to remind themselves where their core muscles are and waken the body up for breathing and singing.

For me this was a my first experience of Dalcroze's basic ideas. Led by Karin Greenhead and Bethan James, I was given an insight to the relationship between music-making and physical movement. Picking up lots of ideas to use in workshops, I have employing some in my work at Padfield School and in my private singing teaching.

I went into this set of workshops with my performance and singing in mind, but have discovered that it is adding to my armoury of educational techniques. It emphasises the importance of focusing on your colleagues on stage visually and aurally, on reacting to situations, on your purpose and the outcome of the scene. For me, it aids concentration, commitment and spontaneous artistic decision-making. The technique also reduces selfishness, self-consciousness and employs nerves and mind creatively.

Having coached the bass session in the summer, Jamie Burton asked me to stand in for him whilst he took on of his other choirs, one I was very much involved in at university, Schola Cantorum of Oxford, on tour to Mexico. This was a commitment to four rehearsals and a concert.

Jamie and I put together a programme of Shakespeare settings (George Shearing and Vaughan Williams) which I developed into a concert with readings by members of the choir. It was the first programme of a new season. With new choir members, I was keen to prepare the choir as much for the concert as to knit the choir together with a few workshop games and altering the seating positions each rehearsal.

At the concert, the choir had to wait much longer than expected for their time to sing; I was impressed by how they maintained their concentration and how they continued to engage the audience when singing. Moments of the concert are engraved in my memory, particularly the moments of commitment to the sound and text.

This was the first time I have worked with the Choir. I like the atmosphere and working closely with the bass section for a few days was rewarding. They were taking quite exposing music on tour, particularly Poulenc's Gloria and Vaughan Williams' Serenade to Music (sung chorally). This is very good for a young bass section since it challenged their natural disposition to be not just physically at the back of the choir. Jamie Burton, their conductor, was keen to emphasise posture and use of breath. I took one of the morning warm-ups in glorious sunshine for the choir and orchestra, about 150 teenagers. We worked on posture for walking on stage and carrying that through into performing, emphasising the need for self-dignity as a performer.

Class 3 (Years 3 and 4)

"The remembering song"

We embarked on writing a song based on "things we find difficult to remember". As with any subject that comes to mind, the class took it from my initial thoughts of helping them with rhymes for remembering facts and times-tables to remembering to take medicine, look after a pet, be kind to little brothers. For the music we started with two Debussy piano pieces. The children chose moments they liked in the pieces and I went away and put together a tune from that. We embarked on learning the song, but an opportunity to perform it was swallowed up in end of year activities.

Dolffin

Julian Phillips' specially commissioned bilingual (Welsh/English) children's opera about Dolphins in Cardigan Bay went on tour to school mostly in England during this period. I took the roles of the Boatman, a local ex-fisherman who takes visitors out to see the dolphins in Cardigan Bay and Lightning, a visiting Spanish Dolphin.

We started with Hay County and Clyro Primaries in Hay-on Wye, in a marquee at the Festival. We ended the tour at St George's, Brandon Hill in Bristol, with Knowle Park and Sea Mills Junior schools. We joined Lower Farm Primary in Walsall, Rookery Primary in Handsworth, Allanson Street and Nutgrove Primaries in St Helens and Oakfield and St Joseph's in Cardiff. With a fully-staged, professionally supported project, the children sang contemporary classical music in English and Welsh to a harp and percussion accompaniment, acting the roles of both dolphins and "the sea" which included costume changes and taking responsibility for some vital parts of the action. It was a tremendous project demanding a lot from these years 5 and 6s, especially in the culmination of the project with a full rehearsal and performance schedule over two days.

wno.org.uk/max

Noye's Fludde

Britten's children's opera or mystery play based on the Old Testament story seen through New Testament eyes, requires three adult performers; Noah, his wife and the voice of God. I played Noah. It was put together by the Choral Society and the local school with much local involvement. Noah's children were played by teenagers from around Manchester. It was a great pleasure to sing this again, having performed it in Camden a few years ago. With knowledge of that production, I was able to help guide the children around in the rehearsal a little to make more of a production than just a stand-and-sing.

Schubert songs from the A level syllabus - Year 12

This was a way of preparing for A levels and introducing the larger picture of these songs. We discussed the singing of these songs and the interpretation of the words as coloured by the music. We discussed performance and audiences in Schubert's day and now, live and recorded. Through my singing sections of the songs, the students tried out different interpretations. We finished with a short contemporary poem I provided, which the students set to music. On their instruments with me singing, we performed the new song for ourselves.

Working with James Redwood, a group of about twelve trainee workshop leaders got together to develop skills, learn new techniques and workshop games over two days at Little London Primary School in Leeds. In return for the use of their buildings, the school involved their year 5 group. We first tried ideas within our group of trainees and then volunteered to take sections of the workshop with the children. Loosely the project was based in the end of The Marriage of Figaro.

Workshops on Don Giovanni at Notre Dame School, Lambeth. Encouraging the participants to listen to, move to and play the music from scenes of Don Giovanni, Live Action Opera engaged them in the story and the feelings and motivations of the characters. (See Jan-Feb 2007 for more details.)

Bluebeard Project: The Eighth Door

Plant Hill High School Year 9

Through Bartok's Bluebeard's Castle, the Year 9s studying drama and music came to create a fully-staged instrumentally-accompanied one act opera called "The Eighth Door". The professional artists involved were 2 composers, 2 singers, a trumpeter, cellist, double bassist and percussionist, 2 director and a designer. With this team, a great deal of enthusiasm from the students and their music teacher, within very little time the piece was created. Uptake of GCSE music has increased at the school.

operanorth.co.uk/education