Peter Rose and Anne Conlon |
Peter Rose and Anne Conlon produced their first work - The Conversion Job - in 1981: a humorous and witty musical which followed the fortunes of Augustine and his monks as they set about their task of converting Britain to Christianity. Following the success of their second collaboration - The Kestrel Song - which won the BBC/WWF Sounds Natural competition, they were commissioned by the WWF to write a musical entertainment highlighting the importance of the rainforests and the threat posed to them by man's drive for development: the resulting highly successful Yanomamo was first performed in June, 1983.
This was followed in 1985 by Daughters of Pendle, a musical which, dealing with 16th century witchcraft, spelt out a very different message - the destructive effects of poverty, degradation and ignorance. In 1986, they completed their second WWF commission - African Jigsaw - which explored the severe problems of migration from the countryside to city in developing countries. 1990 saw the first performance of Ocean World. In this musical, their third WWF work, they focussed on the sea as they told the remarkable story of a mother whale and her baby making the treacherous journey north.
In 1996, their first book of hymns - Hymns for a Caring World - was published by Josef Weinberger Ltd. Throughout this collection runs the theme of caring - for the world in which we live and for the people with whom we share it. Also in 1996 was the premiere of their fourth WWF commission, Arabica which exposes the injustices of world trade. Arabica will be published in Summer 1997.
Yanomamo, African Jigsaw, Ocean World and Arabica have proved to be more popular than WWF could ever have dreamed! Thousands upon thousands of children have performed these works in many countries throughout the world - Canada, USA, Zambia, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, India, Malaysia, Australia, South Korea, and nearer home, France, Germany, Denmark and Sweden. Song of Creation is now already following in these illustrious footsteps!