Friday 17th May 2024, Sheldonian Theatre
Conducted by Ed Liebrecht
Featuring the Oxford University Jazz Orchestra (OUJO)
OUO will joined forces with the exceptional OUJO and our 2023-34 Early Career Conductor, Ed Liebrecht (biography) for An Evening of Orchestral Jazz. This exciting collaboration was perfectly crafted to bring the audience an enjoyable evening of orchestral jazz, combining film score highlights from 20th century America and a selection of big band favourites written by Gershwin, Sinatra, and others.
The highlight of this concert was Gershwin’s jazz-influenced symphonic poem An American in Paris which combines the influences of American Blues and French composers such as Debussy and Poulenc. This piece is absolutely synonymous with the orchestral jazz genre and was the subject of an extensive dance sequence in the Oscar-winning 1951 film of the same name. The Oscar-winning theme continues with the Suite from Korngold’s 1938 score of The Adventures of Robin Hood, the first time that an Oscar had been awarded directly to a composer.
Accompanying this fantastic trio of works, the concert was interspersed by favourites of the big band repertoire, but in a way that you may never have heard them before as they are accompanied by symphony orchestra. OUJO have an excellent reputation for this kind of music throughout Oxford and further afield, we’re delighted that they joined us for this concert with their incredible vocal soloists showcasing audience favourites from George Gershwin, Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra such as Let's Face the Music and Dance and New York, New York.
On Saturday 1st June 2024 at Christ Church Cathedral, OUSinf teamed up with our new 2024-25 conductor James Norton for an evening of chamber repertoire by Mozart (Cosi Fan Tutte Overture), Ravel (Le Tombeau de Couperin), and Farrenc (Symphony No.1). This concert also featured the winner of our 2024 composition competition, Tsuru by Tom Burkill!
