Music tells a story - a good story. Therefore this presentation/performance series is conducted in a lively and anecdotal manner. The great operas, ballets and symphonic works come alive as their stories are dramatically retold. Who wrote them? When? Where? Why? Who was the first audience?

A multi-disciplinary approach will gradually unfold the story behind the music, in its historical and social context. Composers will be taken off their pedestals and revealed as real people, living in a real time. The audience will become part of the fabric of the era.

Each session will begin with a spirited investigation of the concrete: the social history, manners, clothing, art and politics of the era; and then move to the abstract - the specific musical work(s). Key passages - what in the music makes it a masterwork - will be demonstrated at the piano and discussed - but always anecdotally, always accessibly to an audience of mixed ages. Finally, a dramatic performance of the work will bring the story to life, told over music recorded by world-class orchestras and singers.

Clayton Scott's objective is to educate and entertain, as she introduces the masterworks of opera, ballet and orchestral music to families, students and the general community.

Click for a list of titles presented by Clayton Scott.