The Monster in the Maze
Adult Community Choir, Youth choir, Children's Choir, Adult opera singers, Ensemble 360, The Consone Quartet, The Bridge Ensemble, Sheffield Music Hub Senior Strings. A Greek Epic in every sense! A pleasure to realise this project alongside Sheffield Music Hub and Music in the Round.
Director - Rosie Kat
Designs - Fenna de Jonge
Andy Brown & Music In the Round
Sheffield Chamber Orchestra
A bit about me
I am committed to delivering incredible musical outcomes with you, regardless of who you are or where you come from.
I am a conductor, music educator, and arranger/orchestrator based in Sheffield - often it's my absolute pleasure to wear all of those hats at the same time.
I work across the UK in opera, orchestral music, crossover repertoire, and education projects. I have built a reputation as a leading voice in mass participation projects and conducted some of the highest-profile community operas to date for the Royal Ballet and Opera House, Music in the Round, Prologue Opera, Northern Opera Group and many more.
Across all the disciplines I work in, I love building relationships and forging positive connections. I relish learning from everyone I work with, and value every voice in the room.
News
Click the images to see what I have to share
I'm thrilled to be joining the RBO team on a more permanent basis as a Schools Sing artist, nationally advocating for the power of music education
At the start of September, longtime collaborator Rosie and I will be creating an workshopping a brand new opera for children based on the beautiful book There's an Octopus Under my Bed
After the amazing success of Monster in the Maze in Sheffield, it's really exciting to be able to bring it back to life in Hastings for Prologue opera with the same wonderful team
We've been working together and getting on like a house on fire since 2019, so it's a joy to get stuck into a new season, starting at the Wetherby Festival
Diary
Here's what people have been saying
"The BEST experience of my life. Having never done Musical Theatre before (let alone an opera in the Crucible!!), this has really opened my eyes to the opportunities available and I will say now at some point in the future we WILL see me on the stage again!!" - Monster in the Maze Youth Chorus Member
"I appreciate [John's] thoughtful approach and his ability to analyse why something might not be working and so be able to suggest a solution to players." - Sheffield Chamber Orchestra Member
"The kids absolutely loved it, it will stay with them forever" - Gillian Hume, Sheffield Music Hub manager
"Really enjoyed your fresh energetic encouraging inspiring conducting and calm under the concert pressures. Thoroughly enjoyed your direction of The Creation, I'd never played the work before. Absolutely loved every minute of it. Thank you so much"
“It was incredible to see professionals and children perform together… To experience opera in such an accessible way [was] really amazing, innovative and inspiring. I found it incredibly moving.”
John has been a joy to work with. Endlessly enthusiastic and encouraging, and bringing a lightness to rehearsals. When John rehearses a section in detail it doesn't feel like we're doing things wrong, but that we're really working on the fine tuning"
"Our conductor, John Lyon, infused every rehearsal with energy and enthusiasm, sparking a real sense of excitement within the orchestra. This in turn encouraged many of us to invite friends and family to the concert. His excellent rehearsal technique and thoughtful guidance gave us a deeper appreciation of the symphony’s intricacies and brought the music vividly to life. John wants an orchestra where everyone plays fully, supports one another, brings their own best self to the music, shares genuine enthusiasm, and works calmly but relentlessly toward deeper musical detail." Leeds Symphony Orchestra for Making Music
Thought the evening was fantastic. The conductor, soloist orchestra and choir absolutely brilliant! Room full of highly talented people. It was wonderful experience. The music the orchestra and the choir were full of the joys of creation It was fabulous. Good venue. Wonderful soloists. The orchestra were great. And the choir were marvellous Wonderful venue. Wonderful singing. An event to remember Fabulous piece, great performance. Exciting, accurate and musical singing from choir alongside superb young soloists. Music with choir excellent choice Victoria Hall good venu and daytime a good idea as well Very enjoyable The repertoire good performance brilliant A joy to watch and listen to A wonderful musical experience. Top class Top quality performance. Delighted to have driven 100 miles to be there An uplifting performance! So uplifting. Spine-tingling moments. A wonderful and inclusive collaboration A high standard of performance from both Orchestra and Choir It was a great concert As soon as I heard the Bass, I felt it would be a good concert. Then the Choir, where did they come from?( I had not heard them before) I knew it would be very good along with the rest of the soloists and the orchestra at its best....What a joy Thank you. - Audience Feedback from the Creation
It was a wonderful and engaging performance. My husband who has dementia and is not a classical music buff thoroughly enjoyed it. The children in the audience were loving it too Pied Piper Audience Feedback
