Background: Dry River Run is a 140 minute opera written for the QCGU Opera School, and uses a new story and libretto from award winning Australian author Rodney Hall. Contribution: The complex nature of writing and presenting a new opera brings together many elements and people across several areas of the arts industry and in fact, several departments across the University. The composition time was in excess of 14 months, the rehearsal time began 12 months prior to opening night. Significance: The compositional process was the most important of my career to date and the size of the creation and the time required to bring it to life, was instrumental in me understanding the true craft of both compositional creativity and the inner workings of my own style and skill level. The process allowed me to fully develop several aspects of my craft including the use of chordal based harmony practice. (the main characters - 5 of them - had a series of chords or orchestration aspects or intervals that always accompanied their appearance in the story) The process also taught me the skill of editing (how to lose some of your favourite moments) and how to rewrite or add music in a hurry. In one case, I had to compose a fully orchestrated interlude to give the stage more time, in just under 48 hours. The result of the opera was four well attended and remarkably well performed shows in the Conservatorium Theatre, that gave students the opportunity to embrace the new and to learn an significant length of opera from memory of which their is no recording available. For me personally, the opera shone a light on my craft as a composer and has helped drive my skill to an entirely new level. The works I have written post 2018 have been a significantly higher standard in terms of structure, style and context.