Concerts

Upcoming Concerts

Reserve your place at our next concert now via the Tickets page!

Next Concert:

Thursday 13th November 2025 (Conductor: Natalia Luis-Bassa)

OUO’s long-time Principal Guest Conductor Natalia Luis-Bassa returns to the Sheldonian Theatre in a concert that features Tchaikovsky’s 4th Symphony (1878), a powerful and emotionally charged work that explores fate, struggle, and personal turmoil. Tchaikovsky moves from melancholy to frenzied energy, before culminating in a triumphant finale in which joy and resilience overcomes.

In the first half, the orchestra plays Bela Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra (1943), a soloistic showcase to launch our 2025/26 season! Blending Hungarian folk influences with 20th century harmonies and dynamic rhythm drive, Bartok moves similarly from darkness to triumph, echoing his years of exile and enduring optimism.

Friday 21st November 2025 (Conductor: Louis Benneyworth)

The Oxford University Sinfonietta presents its Michaelmas Term 2025 concert: Symphonic Stories, inviting listeners young and old to be taken on a journey through orchestral and narrated stories. The evening begins with Prokofiev's narrated Peter and the Wolf, which assigns each orchestral instrument to a farmyard animal, before Wiseman's The Fairytale of the Selfish Giant, which takes inspiration from Oscar Wilde's fairytale about a giant who learns to show compassion. The evening concludes with Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, which guides the listener through each section of the orchestra before a vast tutti fugue. Be sure not to miss this thrilling evening of chamber orchestra repertoire.

Concert dates for future seasons:
Saturday 14th February 2026
Friday 22nd May 2026
Thursday 12th November 2026
Saturday 13th February 2027
Saturday 29th May 2027
Thursday 11th November 2027
Saturday 12th February 2028
Saturday 27th May 2028

Trinity 1966 and Hilary 1967

We have recently been given two posters and some film footage from 1960s OUO concerts, please take a look. Let us know if you have any information about past OUO concerts

Michaelmas 1996

Following the appeal on this page, we are really grateful that an alumnus got in touch to send us details of this 1996 concert of Nielsen, Sibelius and Grieg

Hilary 1997

Berlioz with Michael Trowski

Trinity 1997

Sibelius, and Brahms' Violin Concerto with Anthony Marwood, conducted by Leon Gee

Michaelmas 1997

Mahler, and Mozart's Oboe Concerto with Douglas Boyd

Hilary 1998

Scheherezade, and Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto with Clive Driskill-Smith, conducted by Peter Stark

Trinity 1998

Beethoven, and Weber Clarinet Concerto with Catriona Scott, conducted by Jaques Cohen

Michaelmas 1998

Elgar and Walton with Peter Stark, featuring OUChorus and Oxford Chamber Choir

Hilary 1999

Rachmaninov, Kabelevsky and Tubin's Double Bass Concerto, conducted by Peter Stark

Trinity 1999

Sheldonian Organ Inaugural Gala Concert, conducted by Sir Roger Norrington, featuring Simon Preston and a selection of works for Organ and Orchestra

Michaelmas 1999

Sibelius, Bach and Britten, featuring Douglas Boyd as Oboist and Conductor

Hilary 2000

MacMillan and Holsts' Planets, with Peter Stark and OUChorus

Trinity 2000

Tchaikovsy, Dvorak and Verdi with John Beswick

Michaelmas 2000

Stravinsky and Duke Ellington, with OUJO and Garry Walker

Hilary 2001

Shostakovich and Bloch, with Raphael Wallfisch (Cello) and Peter Stark

Trinity 2001

Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and Saint-Saens' Organ Concerto, with Jaques Cohen

Michaelmas 2001

Mahler 2 with OUChorus and Peter Stark

Hilary 2002

Bartok, Gershwin and Bernstein with Peter Stark

Trinity 2002

Elgar and Strauss' Four Last Songs, conducted by Leon Gee

Michaelmas 2002

Strauss' Violin Concerto with Priya Mitchell, alongside Prokofiev and Mendelssohn conducted by Sarah Ioannides

Hilary 2003

Douglas Boyd conducted Brahms 1 and Stravinsky Firebird

Trinity 2003

Rimsky-Korsakov, Elgar, and Britten were on the programme under the baton of Leon Gee

Michaelmas 2003

Maestro Xenophon Kelsey led a performance of Debussy and Mahler 5

Hilary 2004

Jason Lai conducts Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra alongside Adams and Sibelius

Trinity 2004

Tchaikovsky, Vaughan Williams, and Rossini's William Tell Overture with Toby Purser

Michaelmas 2004

Peter Stark conducted an early 20th century programme in Christ Church Cathedral

Hilary 2005

Douglas Boyd conducted Berlioz and Tchaikovsky featuring Guy Johnston (Cello)

Trinity 2005

Brahms and Kodaly accompanied Mahler's First Symphony with Toby Purser

Michaelmas 2005

Two symphonies: Shostakovich and Saint-Saens, conducted by Jason Lai and with Jonathan Clarke (Organ)

Hilary 2006

Dvorak and Stravinsky's Rite of Spring with Peter Stark

Trinity 2006

John Traill conducted Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition and Tchaikovsky

Michaelmas 2006

Strauss, Wagner, and Brahms with Jason Lai and David Chivers (Violin)

Hilary 2007

Copland, Bernstein, and Adams Short Ride in a Fast Machine, under the baton of Peter Stark

Trinity 2007

Oxford Inspires Festival Concert in the park, with James Burton and Schola Cantorum of Oxford

Michaelmas 2007

Mahler's 9th Symphony with Jason Lai

Hilary 2008

Nielsen, Sibelius and Grieg with Peter Stark. Perfomed in the Sheldonian Theatre and Winchester Cathedral

Trinity 2008

Elgar and Hindemith with Toby Purser

Michaelmas 2008

Shostakovich's 7th Symphony - Leningrad - with Alexander Shelley

Hilary 2009

Messiaen's Turangalila Symphonie with Neil Thomson, Luis Pares (Piano) and Cynthia Millar (Ondes Martenot)

Trinity 2009

Schola Cantorum of Oxford and James Burton joined OUO for Rachmaninov, Poulenc and Vaughan Williams

Michaelmas 2009

Peter Stark was back with OUO for Walton and Strauss' Death and Transfiguration

Hilary 2010

Two classic works by Shostakovich and Stravinsky with Benjamin Wallfisch

Trinity 2010

Natalia Luis-Bassa's first of many OUO concerts, performing Brahms and Rimsky-Korsakov

Michaelmas 2010

A rare concert in the Oxford Town Hall, Tchaikovsky and Bartok with Peter Stark

Hilary 2011

Daniel Harding and Steven Isserlis joined OUO to raise money for St Peter's Church, Wolvercote. Dvorak and Rachmaninov were on the programme

Trinity 2011

A big programme of Stravinsky, Butterworth, Brahms, Faure, and Verdi with Hilary Davan Wetton

Michaelmas 2011

Mahler 5 and Stravinsky's Symphonies of Wind Instruments with Geoffrey Paterson

Hilary 2012

Natalia returned to OUO to conduct Shostakovich and Bartok

Trinity 2012

OUO performed Mendelssohn and Berlioz with Dane Lam

Michaelmas 2012

Geoffrey Paterson conducted a Russian programme of Wagner and Prokofiev

Hilary 2013

Thomas Blunt conducted Mahler, Rachmaninov, and Shostakovich

Trinity 2013

Ben Palmer joined OUO for the first time with a concert of Sibelius, Stravinsky, and Rossini

Michaelmas 2013

Mahler's Resurrection Symphony with Natalia Luis-Bassa and guest singers

Hilary 2014

OUO was under the baton of Nicholas Cleobury for Elgar and Britten

Trinity 2014

Beethoven, Sibelius, and Brahms conducted by Benjamin Goodson

Michaelmas 2014

A concert of Brahms and Strauss with Hugh Brunt

Hilary 2015

Ravel, Rachmaninov, and Revueltas with Natalia Luis-Bassa

Trinity 2015

Ben Palmer conducted an exciting programme of Scheherazade and the Firebird Suite

Michaelmas 2015

Mahler's epic 7th Symphony with Jamie Phillips

Hilary 2016

A seasonal programme of Debussy, Tchaikovsky, and Stravinsky with Hugh Brunt

Trinity 2016

Robin Browning leads OUO with classics by Bruckner and Debussy

Michaelmas 2016

Daniel Harding and Carolin Widmann join OUO to raise money for Parkinson's UK by performing Berlioz and Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto

Hilary 2017

An exciting programme of Copland, Gershwin, and Bernstein with Jamie Phillips

Trinity 2017

As part of the Somme100FILM project, OUO performed the new movie soundtrack to a live screening of the Battle of the Somme film of 1916. This exciting challenge, under the baton of film soundtrack expert Ben Palmer, was accompanied by Vaughan Williams' 3rd Symphony

Michaelmas 2017

Natalia Luis-Bassa conducted an all-Russian programme of Borodin, Prokofiev, and Tchaikovsky

Hilary 2018

Another of Mahler's epic symphonies was performed alongside Ravel, led by Robin Browning

Trinity 2018

Kodaly, Debussy, and Rachmaninov were on the programme with Robert Hodge conducting

Michaelmas 2018

Natalia Luis-Bassa took charge of a contrasting programme including Sibelius and Strauss

Hilary 2019

Peter Stark conducted Shostakovich's massive Leningrad symphony

Japan Tour, Tokyo Concert

The first performance of our 2019 Japan tour was a selection of British and Japanese pieces performed alongside Orchestra Motif in Keio University's concert hall. OUO's first ever overseas performance

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El Sistema Children’s Music Festival

We visited Fukushima to perform and engage with the Soma City Children's Orchestra & Chorus as part of their annual festival, 8 years after the tsunami which hit the region

Trinity 2019

After leading us on tour, Cayenna took up the baton again for a performance of Clara Schumann's seldom-performed Piano Concerto

Michaelmas 2019

Our Wagner Tubas were out in force for An Evening of Wagner under the direction of world renowned opera conductor Jan Latham-Koenig

Hilary 2020

Having conducted Mahler 2 in 2013 with OUO, Natalia was back to conduct Mahler 9

OUO-OUJO collaboration Hilary 2020

An evening of classic and contemporary tunes arranged for big band and strings, from the well-known songs of Sinatra and Fitzgerald to premieres of new compositions and arrangements commissioned for the event

Trinity 2020

Being forced in to covid lockdown didn't stop OUO producing a performance together!

Michaelmas 2020

Despite the lockdown preventing us joining the BTHVN2020 festival in Bonn, it did allow us to (virtually) do a Christmas performance

Trinity 2021

We were very pleased to get back to in-person performances in the Sheldonian, albeit with social distancing restrictions

Michaelmas 2021

We were under the baton of Robert Hodge for a concert he was particularly passionate about, a centenary celebration of British composers

Hilary 2022

Natalia's first concert as Principal Guest Conductor was a beautiful programme of Stravinsky and Rimsky-Korsakov

Trinity 2022

Our Early Career Conductors scheme began with alumna Chloe Rooke conducting a premiere by alumnus Sam Buttler

Michaelmas 2022

Peter Stark returned to OUO for a challenging Eastern-European programme of Prokofiev, Rachmaninov, and Lutoslavski

Hilary 2023

Natalia was back to conduct another Mahler symphony, alongside some Coleridge-Taylor and Brahms

Trinity 2023

Alumnus Joe Davies came back to OUO as an Early Career Conductor to perform Rachmaninov and Debussy

Michaelmas 2023

Shostakovich 11 was on the programme for OUO with Toby Purser, while OUSinf offered an evening of Spanish and Latin American music

Hilary 2024

Natalia led Strauss' epic An Alpine Symphony with OUO, and OUSinf gave an evening of French chamber music at the Sheldonian

Northern Italy Tour, 2024

Between sampling the exquisite italian cuisine, OUO performed a series of fantastic concerts in some of the best venues across Milan, Bergamo, Cremona, Bologna, and Parma. This tour featured Brahms' 2nd Symphony, Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet, the Italian premiere of Gipps' 2nd Symphony, and the world premiere of Giulia Monducci's Sŏlum. There was also a very special performance of Elgar's From the Bavarian Highlands with the student choir in Bologna

Trinity 2024

OUO were joined by OUJO and Ed Liebrecht for an evening of orchestral jazz, and OUSinf performed Mozart, Farrenc and Ravel along with the composition competition winner Tom Burkill

Michaelmas 2024

In an incredibly exciting project, Rémy Ballot joined OUO from Vienna for a programme of Scheherazade, Schubert and Ravel. OUSinf presented a concert including Brahms' 1st Symphony, Milhaud, Mayer and Ravel

Hilary 2025

OUO were joined by Principal Guest Conductor Natalia Luis-Bassa for a programme of Mahler's Symphony No.5, Debussy's Prelude à l’aprés-midi d’un faune and Anna Clyne's Masquerade.

Trinity 2025

OUO were joined by Daniel Hogan for a programme of Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, John Adams’ The Chairman Dances and the Dance Suite from Ginastera’s Estancia.