As a leader of education, development and training Stephen Langridge has worked in Holland, France, Spain, Germany, Finland, Senegal, South Africa, Sweden, Ireland, and across the UK (where he has run projects for most of the opera companies, and many of the orchestras).


Stephen Langridge running a Share Music training day in Sweden.

This work falls into three main catagories.

1. Large-scale community performances. Some examples: Zoe and Misper, operas for (and starring) young people, both by John Lunn and Stephen Plaice for Glyndebourne;  a production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar with 60 inmates of HMP Bullingdon for the company Music in Prisons; West Side Story with inmates at HMPs Bullingdon & Wandsworth, & Mountjoy Prison in Dublin for Pimilco Opera; For The Public Good by Orlando Gough featuring 500 amateur singers, and a scattering of professionals, for English National Opera on the occasion of the London Coliseum's 100th birthday.These are projects adapted or written specifically for different non-professional groups, rehearsed and performed with significant professional input at the highest possible level.

Misper Lunn/Plaice, design Alison Chitty, light Keith Benson, Glyndebourne

2. Devised work. Sometimes using existing repertoire as a starting point, sometimes using ancient myths or more contemporary themes, whether these projects are in environments such as schools, prisons, hospitals, or on residential courses such as Share Music, with groups of disabled and non-disabled young people, all of them involve groups of people coming together to make new work under the guidance of professional artists. These projects can be more process than product lead, but are increasingly becoming a spring board towards high quality production and performance.

Julius Caesar Shakespeare, design Anthony Lamble, light Jo Joelson,
Music in Prisons and HMP Bullingdon

3. Training and professional development. This can be training professional artists or advanced students to lead education work (LPO/Glyndebourne, Britten Pears School, Exeter University), or helping to develop the creative skills and techniques of teachers; working with composers and librettists to make music theatre (Performance Arts Labs, Aldeburgh Residencies), or workshops with young professional singers (British Youth Opera, Fundación La Caixa).

Mary King and Stephen Langridge rehearsing For The Public Good by Orlando Gough at the London Coliseum, a community opera starring a chorus of 500 in the Coliseum stalls.