Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra

Happy New Year! ✨

We are kicking off 2024 with a very busy January, with plenty coming up later in the year too.

Beat those January blues and join us for captivating concerts this month – from Brahms and Berlioz to Elgar and Vaughan Williams, there is something for everyone to enjoy!

Browse all upcoming events on our website at oxfordphil.com

Unfortunately Janine Jansen is no longer able to perform with us in tomorrow’s concert due to illness. We are grateful that Alexandra Conunova is stepping in to play the same programme.

We wish Janine a speedy recovery, and are looking forward to what promises to be a spectacular concert ✨

See you there!

🗓Friday 15 December, 7.30pm
📍Sheldonian Theatre
🎻Mendelssohn Violin Concerto
🎶Schubert Symphony No. 9, ‘The Great’
🎟️Tickets: https://oxfordphil.com/event/mendelssohn-violin-concerto/

Due to unforeseen circumstances, we deeply regret to announce that Martha Argerich is no longer able to play with us on 11 January 2024. We are working hard to reschedule this concert for a future season.

We are immensely grateful to Maxim Vengerov for stepping in to perform with the Orchestra on 11 January at the Sheldonian Theatre. The concert programme will be Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto and Brahms’s Symphony No. 1, and tickets are available to purchase on the OPO website now: https://oxfordphil.com/event/maxim-vengerov-2/

All previous ticket holders have been contacted by the box office.

We had a fantastic evening at St Edward’s School last night, with our annual performance of Handel’s Messiah 🥳 joined by Steven Grahl and the Christ Church Cathedral Choir, and soloists Harriet Burns, Rebecca Leggett, Nick Pritchard and James Atkinson.

Thank you so much to everyone who joined us! 🎄

Looking forward to our annual performance of Messiah tonight. The festive season is officially here…! ✨

We will also be holding a bucket collection at tonight’s concert for the Oxfordshire Homeless Movement. Please remember to bring cash if you would like to donate.

🗓Monday 11 December, 7pm
📍Olivier Hall
🎶Handel’s Messiah
🎟️Last few tickets: https://oxfordphil.com/event/messiah-2/

Hello December! 🎄

The year may be drawing to a close, but we still have a few treats for you to enjoy this festive season…

Browse all upcoming events on our website at oxfordphil.com

On Friday we held the semi-final of the Oxfordshire Senior Concerto Competition.

Nine Oxfordshire musicians took part: Alex Buckley (clarinet), George Lawson (violin), Hannah McFarlane (cello), Sasha Canter (trumpet), Isobel Neary-Adams (viola), Tom Kirby (oboe), Joel Hoe (violin), Edwin De Nicoló (piano) and Lewis Lee (violin). Thank you also to our adjudicators Tony Robb, Jane Salmon and John Traill.

Congratulations to Isobel, Edwin and Sasha for making it through to the final, which will be held on 16 March 2024 👏 tickets for this concert will be on sale soon via our website!

On Thursday we had a fantastic concert at the Sheldonian Theatre, which included two of our student schemes:

Violinist Lewis Lee performed a pre-concert recital as part of our Young Artists’ Platform 🎻

And 10 Oxfordshire students performed alongside our professional musicians for the opening work of the concert, Polonaise and Waltz from Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, as part of our Side-by-Side scheme 🎶

Well done to all involved, and thank you so much to everyone who joined us!

We’re back in the Sheldonian Theatre tomorrow for another sold out performance, joined by Lise de la Salle 🥳

We can’t wait! Are you joining us?

🗓Thursday 23 November, 7.30pm
📍Sheldonian Theatre
🎹Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2
🎶Rachmaninov Symphony No. 2

https://oxfordphil.com/event/rachmaninov-two/

About last night… 🎻🎉

What a fantastic evening with Nigel Kennedy at Barbican Centre, the sold-out performance concluding our tour of the UK!

Thank you all who joined us, we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did 😍

📸: Apple and Biscuit Recordings

We’ve been having a fantastic time on tour over the past week with Nigel Kennedy 🎻

So far we have played four sold-our concerts in Malvern, Oxford and Saffron Walden. Thanks so much to all who have joined us!

Our last stop is tomorrow night at Barbican Centre - looking forward to it 🥳

Today officially marks our 25th birthday! 🎂

25 years ago today, in 1998, we played our first ever concert at Barbican Centre.

And we will be back there next week for a sold-out performance, concluding our tour with Nigel Kennedy 🥳

This year we have had an incredible time celebrating our Silver Jubilee with some extraordinary concerts and events. Thank you to all who have joined and supported us over the past 25 years - here’s to the next 25 and more!

Last weekend we held auditions for our student performance opportunities, as part of our Residency Programme with the University of Oxford:

🎷Young Artists' Platform
🎶Side-by-Side
🎻Orchestral Apprenticeship
🎺Oxfordshire Senior Concerto Competition

Well done to everyone who auditioned and those who received places on our schemes, we can’t wait to start working with you!

Is it too early to talk about Christmas…? 🎄👀

This December we return to the Oliver Hall at St Edward's School, Oxford for our annual performance of Handel’s Messiah. Join us for this festive tradition!

Book your tickets now via our website: https://oxfordphil.com/event/messiah-2/

One month to go until our concert with Nigel Kennedy at Barbican Centre 😍

Best seats available via OPO website, and no booking fees applied. Book your tickets now!

https://oxfordphil.com/event/nigel-kennedy-the-bach-concertos-2/

We can’t wait to be back in the Sheldonian Theatre tomorrow for an evening of Mozart’s Masterpieces ✨

OPO Associate Concertmaster Charlotte Scott joins us as soloist for a night of charm, grace and infectious joy as we celebrate the genius of Mozart.

Still a few tickets left - book yours now!

🗓Thursday 12 October, 7.30pm
📍Sheldonian Theatre
🎻Mozart Violin Concerto No. 3
🎶Mozart Symphony No. 39
🎟Tickets: https://oxfordphil.com/event/mozart-masterpieces/

Unfortunately our ticketing system is down, so we are currently unable to take any bookings. Please bear with us while this issue is resolved.

It’s day 2 of Freshers’ Fair! It’s been great to see so many faces at our stall already, we’re here again until 5pm today so come down and say hi 👋

University of Oxford Oxford SU

Are you a budding musician at school or university in Oxfordshire?

You have just under 2 weeks left to apply if you wish to take part in one of our fantastic performance opportunities this season! The schemes we have on offer are as follows:

🎺Side-by-Side
🎹Young Artists’ Platform
🎶Oxfordshire Senior Concerto Competition
🎻Orchestral Apprenticeship

For more information on each of these schemes and to find out how to apply visit our website: https://oxfordphil.com/university-residency/

The deadline for applications is Monday 16 October at 10am.

📸: Nicholas Posner

Yesterday we held our first FUNomusica of the 2023/24 season, with the theme of ‘world party’ to celebrate the Orchestra’s 25th birthday 🥳 it was a cracking time - thank you so much to everyone who joined us!

Happy 100th birthday Joan Turner!

Joan was the Oxford Philharmonic’s volunteer head steward until early 2020. Her sense of duty an inspiration to us all. Congratulations on this milestone Joan! ❤️

What a night! 🎶

Last night we kicked off our 2023/24 season with Evgeny Kissin and John Rutter in a sold out concert at Oxford Town Hall, met with a standing ovation 👏

Thank you so much to everyone who joined us. We can’t wait to get stuck in to the rest of the season!

🥳 We can’t wait kick off our 2023/24 season tomorrow at Oxford Town Hall with Evgeny Kissin. Are you joining us?

All our 2023/24 season events are now on sale! Book your tickets via our website at oxfordphil.com/events 🎉🎶