B'Opera creates high-quality, interactive, musical experiences for babies, toddlers and their grown-ups from all backgrounds.
B'Opera sit on the Birmingham Early Years Music Consortium ‘Sounds of Play’, and partner with Welsh National Opera and Birmingham Hippodrome. Through weekly workshops, relaxed concerts, and bespoke shows, B'Opera specialise in enabling babies and toddlers to access the arts in a child-centred, relaxed environment.
Zoë, Jac and Phil are professional musicians and experienced teachers. They have performed and toured extensively in the UK and abroad. Zoë and Jac are mothers to five children age eight and under, and created B'Opera as a response to the lack of high quality, up close and personal, musical experiences for their children.
"I left the concert feeling that this was an organisation that really understood how to put on a concert for small children and babies."
- Get Kids Into Music
Zoë Challenor
Founder & Director
Zoë combines a career in singing with a passion for education and a deeply held belief that everyone has a voice, including the youngest of children. A prize-winning graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, she spent eight years as Choral Director and Singing Teacher at Trinity Laban Conservatoire Junior Department in London. Zoë’s work with WNO ranges from opera workshops with children, to co-creative songwriting with refugee families, to mentoring emerging workshop leaders. She writes, performs, and teaches singing & ITM Alexander Technique. She is also mother to 2 young girls.
Jacqueline White
Founder & Producer
Jac graduated with a Masters in Performance from Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, and a PGCE with QTS from Birmingham City University. She combines an active performing career with teaching students at BOA and privately. With over 17 years teaching experience, working with Services for Education and CBSO Young Voices amongst others, she has shared her love of music with hundreds of students, supporting and enabling pupils to perform in venues such as The Genting Arena, Symphony Hall, the Adrian Boult Hall and abroad.
Jac has performed with companies including the New English Orchestra, Birmingham Opera and Opera UK, touring across the UK and in Europe. Jac is studying the CME:EC (Certificate for Music Educators: Early Childhood) through CREC (Centre for Research in Early Childhood) www.crec.co.uk.
She is a mother to 3 young boys and is passionate about helping mothers to support their health and wellbeing.
Phil Ypres-Smith
Founder & Music Director
Phil has over 30 years teaching experience and has been the organist and Director of Music at St George's Church in Edgbaston since 2005.
Having studied at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire he has enjoyed an extensive career composing, arranging, teaching, singing, and performing on organ and piano. Recordings include a CD of original compositions called Love and Joy. Phil regularly composes new music for B'Opera. You can hear some of Phil's original compositions here.
He is an award-winning music director with St Alphage Musical Production Society and the founder and director of Obsidian Theatre Productions Ltd
Alongside music, Phil has worked with the NHS as a senior paediatric audiologist, working with the newborn hearing screening programme since its inception.
Aliyah Wiggins
Team Member
Aliyah is a singer songwriter from Birmingham who began her music leader journey with B’Opera in 2020. In 2022 she took up an 18-month Vocal Leader Internship for Welsh National Opera, delivering workshops across the West Midlands and Wales, sharing her passion and knowledge of singing Opera and Neo-Soul.
Aliyah is currently working with Quench Arts and studying for the CME and You Are Gold programmes to obtain her Level 4 Certificate for Music Educators accreditation from Trinity Guildhall and Gold Arts Award, as well as working as a freelance musician.
You can hear Aliyah's single Questions here.
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