CONCERTS

Oxford Harmonic Choir concerts are held in major central Oxford venues:

  • Oxford Town Hall
  • Sheldonian Theatre
  • SJE (St John the Evangelist Church)

All concerts start at 7.30pm. Doors and venue box office open at 7.00pm. Join our Mailing List to hear about future concerts. Read about recent performances on our Previous Concerts page. .

 Elgar enlightened small concert
Elgar The Dream of Gerontius
26 November 2016
Oxford Town Hall

Elgar wrote on The Dream of Gerontius manuscript: ‘This is the best of me’, a verdict endorsed by posterity …. Click here to read more ....

though when premiered in 1900 its Wagnerian undertones meant it was seen as difficult and daring. It sets to music a poem by Cardinal Henry Newman describing the passage of the old and dying Gerontius into the afterlife. Every step in his journey is evoked in the music, from the ethereal and misty final moments of life to the rampaging demons of hell and, finally, the glimpse of God – one of the most dramatic musical moments of all time.
 Tippett child wire - concerts small
Tippett A Child of our time
Beethoven Violin Concerto
25 March 2017
Oxford Town Hall

Written in 1939-41, A Child of our time was inspired by Tippett’s outrage at the persecution of the Jews by the Nazis in World War 2  …. Click here to read more ....

and is based on the true story of a young Polish Jewish refugee. But it also speaks for the persecuted and displaced in any age, as echoed by its famous settings of five negro spirituals from the time of black slavery in the US, and its exploration of oppression, captivity and flight resonates today as much as in the past.
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Handel Alexander’s Feast
Handel The King Shall Rejoice
1 July 2017
Oxford Town Hall

Soloists:
Catrin Price-Jones Soprano
Emanuel Heitz Tenor
Robert Garland Baritone
Julian Metzger Cello
Jenny Broome Harp

Alexander’s Feast is based on an ode by Dryden whichimagines a victory feast given by Alexander the Great in the captured Persian city of Persepolis before he burned it down …. Click here to read more ....

incited by the seductive singing of the lyre player Timotheus. No-one knows the real reason for the destruction of the city but the power, lyricism and beauty of Handel’s music makes Timotheus’ persuasion utterly convincing and bears out Dryden’s subtitle for the original ode – Alexander’s Feast, or the Power of Music. .