Educational Trust

The Pavilion Opera Educational Trust, now in it's 25th year, was founded on the initiative of Geoffrey Simmonds in 1991 and takes complete Pavilion Opera performances into schools where opera is not readily available.

This has included the urban Boroughs of Merton, Harrow, Bromley, Enfield, Islington, Brent, Barnet, Bournemouth, Tower Hamlets, Westminster, Lambeth, Ealing, Lewisham, Camden, Middlesbrough, Hillingdon and Sheffield and the counties of Hertfordshire and Lincolnshire, so far involving 326 performances of 14 operas in 19 Boroughs to more than 48,500 children in 779 participating schools.

The children are taught the story and the history of the opera and its composer before we arrive, and discuss the performance in class afterwards. There are no compromises in these performances, which are sung in the original language, and the children find this less of a problem than some adults.

Trustees: Geoffrey Simmonds (Chairman), Judy Knox and Lynne Morton.
Charity Registration No. 1009775

This work is made possible by support from the patrons: the Leopold Muller Estate, the Monument Trust and the International Music & Arts Foundation, major corporate support from Glaxo Wellcome plc, B.A.T. Industries plc, Data Connection plc, Comer Homes plc, Marks & Spencer plc, Diageo plc/Pillsbury, United Biscuits (UK) Limited, Cadbury Schweppes Foundation - Trebor Bassett Ltd, Wickes plc, , Abbey National plc, Royal Insurance Holdings plc, and major donations from The Monument Trust, the Rothenberg Family, the Audrey Sacher Charitable Trust, the Esme Fairbairn Charitable Trust, the Duis Charitable Trust, the Spitalfields Market Community Trust, the Idlewild Trust, the Schroder Charity Trust, the Vivien Duffield Foundation, the Rothenberg Charitable Foundation, the Hulse Charitable Trust, the London Borough of Ealing, Brixton Challenge Co. Ltd., St. George Developments Ltd., Richard Strang, R. M. Burton Charitable Trust, Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, C. T. Bowring (Charities Fund) Ltd. Garfield Weston Foundation, London Borough of Lambeth, Brixton Estate Charitable Trust, The Mercers Company, the Fishmongers Company, K.K.L. Executive Trustee Co., Mr. and Mrs. J. I. Green, The Archie Sherman Charitable Trust, The Dorset Foundation, The Inverforth Charitable Trust, J.S.F Pollitzer Charitable Trust, C.H.K. Charities Ltd., Mr P. J. C. Firth, The Morris Leigh Foundation, Barclays Bank plc, The Eleanor Hamilton Charitable Trust, The Fishmongers' Company, The D'Oyly Carte Charitable Trust, The Albert Reckitt Charitable Trust, Guardian Royal Exchange Charitable Trust, The Henry and Grete Abrahams Charitable Foundation, The Kobler Trust, Metaswitch, The Charlotte Bonham-Carter Trust, the Andor trust, The Harrow Heritage Trust, and the Goldsmiths' Company Charity.