Oxford Philomusica
The Orchestra has performed with a remarkable roster of distinguished artists, including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Nicola Benedetti, Valery Gergiev, Hélène Grimaud, Nigel Kennedy, Lang Lang, Menahem Pressler and András Schiff. The 2013/14 concert season saw the appointment of Maxim Vengerov as the Orchestra’s Artist in Residence.
Since 2002, the Philomusica has enjoyed a close association with the University of Oxford as its first-ever Orchestra in Residence. As part of the University Residency, the orchestra collaborates with the University of Oxford Faculty of Music in educational programmes for the benefit of the student community.
Oxford Philomusica presents an extensive season of concerts in Oxford throughout the year, performing mostly at Christopher Wren’s Sheldonian Theatre, part of Oxford University. An acclaimed Chamber Music Series and a Summer Baroque Festival both showcase The Soloists of Oxford Philomusica – a tight-knit family of musicians described by The Times as the Orchestra’s ‘glorious individual players’.
The Orchestra's 2008 recording of The Creation with the Choir of New College, Oxford, was CD of the Month in BBC Music Magazine. 2012 saw the release of a new recording of Mendelssohn's arrangement of Handel's Acis and Galatea - a joint endeavour featuring Oxford Philomusica and the Christ Church Cathedral Choir under the baton of Stephen Darlington - to much critical acclaim.
Education and community work is a central part of the orchestra's mission. Oxford Philomusica won the Oxford Times Charity and Community Award in the Oxfordshire Business Awards 2007 in recognition of its work in the community, including its artistic leadership of the celebrated Blackbird Leys Choir. It works in partnership with Oxfordshire County Council to provide performance opportunities and tuition to the hundreds of talented young musicians in the area. In 2011 the Orchestra joined forces with Oxfordshire County Music Service to present the first of an annual Concerto Competition which aims to showcase and reward the young musical talent that exists in Oxfordshire.
Oxford Philomusica has been firmly committed to community and education work from its earliest days. Its projects in the community focus on taking music where access is not normally available, in areas of social and economic disadvantage. It is a regular presence at the Mulberry Bush School in Standlake, a national provision for severely emotionally disturbed children. The staff and carers commented that the children showed significantly higher levels of engagement (everything is voluntary) than in any other externally delivered project. It also runs regular workshops for severely physically disadvantaged patients at the Centre for Enablement at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, and has extended its work to the geratology wards of John Radcliffe Hospital and more recently Stoke Mandeville Hospital.
The Orchestra has also launched a number of initiatives to encourage diverse audiences of all ages and demographics, and enable young people and families to discover and enjoy classical music. Particular schemes include 'children for £1' tickets at chosen child-friendly concerts, and a regular sell-out FUNomusica family concert series presented by Alasdair Malloy.
Now in its 15th year, Oxford Philomusica continues to embrace its role of filling what Arts Council England defined as ‘an identifiable regional need’ for a professional symphony orchestra based in the area between Birmingham and Bournemouth. As such, the Orchestra performs regularly at venues in Bristol, Cheltenham, Basingstoke and Aylesbury, where it is the Orchestra in Association. Beyond its home region, the Orchestra appears often in London and other parts of the UK and is rapidly expanding its overseas touring programme and its recording catalogue.
In August 1999, the Orchestra inaugurated the first major Piano Festival and Summer Academy to be held in the City. It was described by the Oxford Times as ‘the most significant annual musical event in the city’. The Piano Festival has become an annual feature in the Orchestra’s calendar, earning an international reputation for the quality of the teaching and masterclass opportunities it offers the young musicians. The 2005 Festival was the subject of an article in the New York Times and the International Herald Tribune (‘Oxford's masterclasses turn piano lessons into performance art’). The 2014 Piano Festival Faculty includes: Janina Fialkowska, Horacio Gutiérrez, Niel Immelman, Vadym Kholodenko, Stephen Kovacevich, John Lill, Ferenc Rados, Staffan Scheja, and Dame Fanny Waterman, as well as the Orchestra’s own Music Director, Marios Papadopoulos.