The Opus Pocus is an independent, multimedia publisher founded by Matt Parry, a professional trombone player and music teacher who studied at the Royal Academy of Music.
Inspired by the likes of Disney’s Fantasia and fun, subversive, educational series like Horrible Histories, Matt wanted to develop something similar to help children discover the magic of classical music and struck upon the idea of transforming the great symphonic works into funny, action-packed, multimedia stories so that kids absorb the music simply by following the story: it’s education by stealth.
After one successful Kickstarter campaign, two failed record deals, three triumphant orchestral recordings and at least four years hard work, Matt eventually found the money to launch The Opus Pocus in his bank account, as a result of winning the national Intuit StartUp Britain competition and saving up over the many years it took to bring this project to fruition.
Read Matt’s full bio here and follow Matt Parry (not Matt Perry) on twitter: @notmattperry
The Opus Pocus is an independent, multimedia publisher founded by Matt Parry, a professional trombone player and music teacher who studied at the Royal Academy of Music.
Inspired by the likes of Disney’s Fantasia and fun, subversive, educational series like Horrible Histories, Matt wanted to develop something similar to help children discover the magic of classical music and struck upon the idea of transforming the great symphonic works into funny, action-packed, multimedia stories so that kids absorb the music simply by following the story: it’s education by stealth.
After one successful Kickstarter campaign, two failed record deals, three triumphant orchestral recordings and at least four years hard work, Matt eventually found the money to launch The Opus Pocus in his bank account, as a result of winning the national Intuit StartUp Britain competition and saving up over the many years it took to bring this project to fruition.
Read Matt’s full bio here and follow Matt Parry (not Matt Perry) on twitter: @notmattperry
You can also read Matt’s thoughts on the 1001 Nights story and issues around the cultural appropriation of it here; an important consideration that Matt feels should be fully addressed.
Cast & Creatives
Brian Blessed
The Great Sultan Shakriar / The King
Rory Bremner
Sinbad / The Kalendar Prince
Jess Murphy
Sheherazade / The King’s Daughter / An Odd Princess
Sam Morris
Grandma Dingley / The Genie / A Normal Prince / Some Pirates, Some Wizards and Some of the King’s Guards
Nigel Garton
Other Pirates, A Fruity Wizard and The Rest Of The King’s Guards
Matt Parry
Writer, Director & Producer
Orchestra
Greg Arrowsmith
Conductor
Sarah Sexton
Violin Solo / Orchestra Leader
The Opus Pocus Orchestra
The Orchestra
Sound
Prozone Music
Orchestra Sound Engineer
Royal Academy of Music
Orchestra Recording Venue
Stakeout Studios
Voiceover Sound Engineer
Andrew Smillie
Mastering Engineer
Illustration and Design
Faye Simms
Illustrator
Matteo Pincelli
Illustrator
ArtMiker Studios
Illustrator
Mandy Norman
Art direction and original book/web design
Dynamic Sales Solutions
Web developer
James Topp
Original web design
