Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra

About the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra

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, including Maxim Vengerov, Valery Gergiev, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Martha Argerich, András Schiff, Renée Fleming, Lang Lang, Nicola Benedetti, and Vladimir Ashkenazy.

In addition to the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra’s annual concert season in Oxford, touring performances across the UK, family concerts, annual Oxford Piano Festival, and Chamber Music Series, it boasts a growing list of international engagements, including the Orchestra’s debut at the Tivoli Festival in Copenhagen in June 2019, and a US debut at Carnegie Hall in June 2022.

The Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra has been firmly committed to outreach work from its earliest days, with projects taking music to areas of social and economic disadvantage, including hospitals, Special Schools, and partnerships with Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council.

In the 2019/20 season, the Orchestra launched its Side-by-Side scheme for school and university students, which provides an opportunity for young musicians to perform within the ranks of a professional orchestra.

And in December 2020, the Orchestra recorded a concert in a tribute to all those working on developing a vaccine for COVID-19 at the University of Oxford, including the world premiere of John Rutter’s Joseph’s Carol, commissioned by the Orchestra for the occasion.