New opera, electronic music, celebrating John Barry, cross-genre works: Guildhall School's Making It Festival returns

Guildhall School of Music & Drama’s Making It Festival returns from 8 to 26 June 2026: a three-week celebration of new, original work made by Guildhall School’s vibrant and multi-skilled community. The festival asks what it means to “make it” as an artist in the 21st century. 

Three new works written by composers and librettists on Guildhall’s MA in Opera Making & Writing in association with the Royal Ballet and Opera will be performed by singers and repetiteurs from the Opera Studies department. The works are:

• A Bone to Pick, composed by Eluned Davies with libretto by Bess Still 
• Elara Catching Sky, composed by Yotham Ben Yami with libretto by Ariella Stoian
• The Vanishing Act, composed by Diego Jimenez with libretto by Stuart Lee 

And there will be a post-show panel discussion with the student composers and librettists of Opera Makers and the director, to explore the development of new operatic work and the transition from conservatoire study to professional practice in the industry. 

Other events include In Real Time, a distinctive immersive performance event integrating lighting, live sound and live video as equal, interdependent elements, developed through collaborative, cross-disciplinary practice; three evenings of new music by Guildhall School’s postgraduate Electronic & Produced Music artists, showcasing work across a wide range of specialist disciplines — from experimental sonic art to mainstream film scoring; A Celebration of New Cinematic Song, featuring original songs by Electronic & Produced Music students inspired by the legacy of John Barry. 

There are also self-led performance works for stage and screen by final-year actors – The Making of Us – created and performed entirely on their own terms and the return of GradEx – the annual exhibition of works by final-year artists on Guildhall School’s BA course.

Full details from the Guildhall School's website.