London - Aix - Brussels - Salzburg. Summer is festival season. But also teaching season. June started with a workshop at the Royal Opera House with legendary singer Aruna Sairam, who will be joining us as soloist for Nine Jewelled Deer. July started with a trip to Festival d’Aix, where we visited the venue where Nine Jewelled Deer will premiere next summer. From there, a train to Brussels, where I had the privilege of mentoring a very talented group of composers at the BE Connect academy alongside Ensemble Fractales and Thierry De Mey. Next: Salzburg Festival followed by Voix Nouvelles Academy, where I will be mentoring another group of talented composers as they create their first opera!