NHF

Education

Since we first started with our opera performances in 2013, Nevill Holt has had a clear mission of inspiring and enhancing young peoples’ lives through the transformative power of the arts. Over the years, we have remained committed to this mission, whilst broadening our focus to improve accessibility.

Schools & Community

We believe that studying arts subjects improves employability, and that access to culture can have a significant impact on the wellbeing of young people. In 2024, our educational initiatives provided creative opportunities for over 2,000 young people in the local area. Many enjoyed free festival performances, school workshops, stage appearances, and singing lessons. Our catering team partnered with local culinary colleges to involve volunteer students in the preparation and running of our food and drink. In 2024, we also welcomed a number of young people with special educational needs and learning disabilities to our team.

Since 2013, we’ve collaborated with over 160 young singers, giving them vital experience in a professional opera company. We’re dedicated to casting young talent for important debuts. We focus on emerging artists, whether they’re still in music college or are breaking into the opera scene. Some of our past young singers have gone on to grace the stages of the Royal Opera House, the English National Opera and other leading institutions around the world.

Festival 2025

Developed in partnership with the David Ross Education Trust (DRET), a network of 36 academies across the East Midlands, Yorkshire and Humberside, this summer’s festival not only involves hundreds of children and young people as active participants in festival performances, but also provides engagement opportunities for children and families as audience members through an expanded programme of family shows. The Education programme is made possible through generous donations to the Nevill Holt Education Fund.

  • Our partnership with Opera North means that all local GCSE Music students have the opportunity to hear the Orchestra of Opera North during the school day in a specially curated concert at The Core, Corby, in which the syllabus’s works and themes will be explored
  • Primary and secondary school choirs join forces with the Orchestra of Opera North in concert at the King’s Birthday Prom on Saturday 14th June
  • School choirs and instrumental groups perform on the community stage on Saturday 14th June
  • A term-long poetry competition engaging 24 primary schools reaches its Final with Dead Poets Live on Sunday 15th June
  • Sixth form art students create their own responses to the extraordinary garden sculptures and give tours of the sculptures to members of the public on Thursday 19th June
  • 45 instrumentalists from five DRET secondary schools take part in performances of Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet and The Sinking of the Titanic with The Gavin Bryars Ensemble on Thursday 19th June
  • Discounted tickets for family shows are available for families of DRET students, together with free coach transport to and from Corby, Kettering and Northampton

For more information about the DRET Music programme, visit dret.co.uk/music.

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