Yvette Janine Jackson has used the term “radio opera” to describe her narrative compositions since 2012, beginning with Invisible People (A Radio Opera), but the practice can be traced back to her electroacoustic works from the mid-1990s composed at the Columbia Computer Music Center. These compositions were initially fixed-media intended to be experienced in darkened theaters with the audience surrounded by speakers and later developed into live performances.

Radio Opera Workshop began as a scalable ensemble focused on interpreting the radio operas of Yvette Janine Jackson. The world debut was scheduled for April 2020. The cancellation of the live performances resulted in The Coding video composition featuring Tia Fuller, Judith Hamann, Davindar Singh, Esperanza Spalding, Rajna Swaminathan, and Taiga Ultan.

In September 2022, the Venice Music Biennale welcomed the Radio Opera Workshop featuring Tommy Babin, Amy Cimini, Joy Guidry, Judith Hamann, Malesha Jessie Taylor, and Yvette Janine Jackson on live electronics for the world premiere of Left Behind.

The US debut of the Radio Opera Workshop took place at UC Irvine as part of the Gassmann Electronic Music Concert Series in March 2023 with the US premiere of Left Behind. The ensemble featured Tommy Babin, Amy Cimini, Joy Guidry, Judith Hamann, Dawn Norfleet, Jonathan Piper, and Yvette Janine Jackson.