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"‘Many congratulations on The Withered Arm. I very much enjoyed watching the London showcase, and I think the whole project is really promising. The music is beautiful and atmospheric and overall the material really strong, and well worth further development.’"

Matthew Scott, Head of Music, National Theatre, London

"We commissioned a composer to write the music for a new opera, Prince Caspian. We found a fantastically gifted composer, Jenny Gould, who not only wrote some wonderfully melodic and creative music but also wrote fantastic lyrics AND was a fabulous MD for our half-term project. She has a real gift with children."

Mandy and Bronek Pomorski, co-founders of Opera Brava

Welcome to my website! As you’re browsing, you’ll find all sorts of information on me and my work as a composer, musical director and pianist. Just click on a note to find the section you want.

The first quotation above is about my latest writing project, a new opera adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s The Withered Arm, and the second is from the commissioners of my children’s opera Prince Caspian. Details below and sound and video clips coming soon on the Media page...

The Withered Arm

My big exciting project on the go at the moment is The Withered Arm. This piece received its latest outing as part of Tête à Tête: The Opera Festival on 6 and 7 August 2011 – click on the link for more details and to watch the video of the production.

A new opera that I’m developing with librettist Rachel Barnett and director Joanna Turner, this piece received ACE funding for an initial research and development period in Autumn 2010, during which time we did a whole lot of intensive creating, and then workshopped the material with four fantastic singers at Opera North in Leeds, before presenting our work so far to industry professionals at the National Opera Studio in London. We’re hugely pleased to have gained support from The Hardy Society, Bill Bankes-Jones of Tête à Tête: The Opera Festival as well as Opera North and Matthew Scott at the National Theatre, and we’re looking to continue writing and developing the piece throughout 2012.

Chichester Festival Youth Theatre

After spending summer 2010 with Chichester Festival Youth Theatre as Musical Director of Philip Pullman’s The Firework Maker’s Daughter, and last Xmas MD-ing Alice in Wonderland, I’ve been back in Chichester throughout 2011 running Musical Theatre and Singing workshops for the Youth Theatre. We’ll be continuing the singing input during the autumn term with sessions for adults too, as well as rehearsing for the 2011 Xmas production of The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe.

The Hunt for William Shakespeare, children’s musical

The Hunt for William Shakespeare continues to be a popular choice, and played to a packed house in the Minerva Theatre in Chichester earlier in the year as part of their 2010 season, performed by 60 year 8s from the Youth Theatre. Audio and dvd clips will be available on the Media page soon!

If you’re a teacher, run a youth theatre group or drama club, and are interested in putting on The Hunt for William Shakespeare, please click here for further details.

Written in collaboration with Roy Apps, BAFTA Award-winning children’s writer, our exciting new musical tells the story of star-struck young brothers Edmund and John, who leave their friends Kate and Anne and set out on a dangerous and adventurous journey to London to find the most famous theatre star of all - William Shakespeare. A funny and moving musical that brings the world of Shakespeare’s England vividly alive, and filled with fun and atmospheric songs for your young performers!

The Nightingale and the Rose

My adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s The Nightingale and the Rose had a very successful staging as part of the Grimeborn Festival of new opera and musical theatre writing at The Arcola Theatre, London. You can now hear the full live recording on the Media page.