Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra

About

The Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the leading orchestras in the UK. Praised as ‘excellent’ by Gramophone Magazine and ‘thoroughly impressive’ by BBC Music Magazine, the Orchestra’s reputation is based on the uncompromising artistic standards of its founder and Music Director, Marios Papadopoulos, and maintained by some of the finest musicians in the UK.

Established in 1998 and formerly known as Oxford Philomusica, the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra occupies a unique position within the UK orchestral landscape. As an orchestra of the highest quality, the Oxford Philharmonic attracts some of the world’s greatest artists to appear in its series at Christopher Wren’s Sheldonian Theatre, including Sir András Schiff, Valery Gergiev, Lang Lang, Maria-João Pires, Renée Fleming, Pinchas Zukerman, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Anne-Sophie Mutter and Nigel Kennedy.

Following his remarkable Oxford debut with the Orchestra in 2013, world-renowned violinist Maxim Vengerov became its first Artist in Residence. Since then, Vengerov and the Oxford Philharmonic have undertaken tours in the UK and have recorded the violin concertos of Brahms and Sibelius – the latter gaining special permission from the Sibelius family to record the original 1904 version.

The Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra has been firmly committed to outreach work from its earliest days. Its various projects focus on taking music to areas of social and economic disadvantage, including work in special schools and hospitals. In 2002, it was appointed as the University of Oxford’s first ever Orchestra in Residence. As part of its University Residency, the Oxford Philharmonic collaborates with the Faculty of Music in educational programmes for the student community, while partnerships with Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council provide tuition and performance opportunities for hundreds of talented young musicians.