Classical music in Oxford
The oldest purpose-built music room in Europe, two of England’s great choirs and a professional orchestra at the Sheldonian: where to listen, and what is on this season.
Photo: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Oxford’s classical music comes in three sizes. Chamber music lives in an eighteenth-century room that seats 200. Orchestral music fills Wren’s Sheldonian Theatre. And the choral tradition goes on in college chapels and the cathedral, several evenings a week in term. This guide covers the places and the people, and picks out the 2026/27 season.
At a glance
| Where | What | When |
|---|---|---|
| Holywell Music Room | Chamber music, including the Oxford Coffee Concerts | Most Sundays at 11.15am |
| Sheldonian Theatre | Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra and visiting ensembles | Season from October 2026 |
| New Theatre | Oxford International Opera: Tosca (played September 2026) | 24 and 26 September 2026 |
| Christ Church Cathedral | Christ Church Cathedral Choir | Services in term, at Christmas and Easter |
| New College Chapel | Choir of New College | Services in term |
The Holywell Music Room
The Holywell opened in 1748 and is described as the oldest purpose-built music room in Europe and Britain’s first concert hall. It was designed by Dr Thomas Camplin, vice-principal of St Edmund Hall, and today belongs to Wadham College. It seats 200, so everyone is close to the players. In the late eighteenth century Haydn was the composer most often performed here.
The easiest way in is the Oxford Coffee Concerts, a chamber music series founded in 1986, which brings leading ensembles to the Holywell at 11.15am nearly every Sunday of the year. The ticket includes a cup of coffee at The King’s Arms beforehand.
The Sheldonian Theatre and the Oxford Philharmonic
Wren’s Sheldonian, finished in 1669, is the University’s ceremonial hall and the city’s main venue for orchestral and large choral concerts; it seats about 700. The Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, founded in 1998 and led by its music director Marios Papadopoulos, gives most of its season here.
Highlights of the 2026/27 season:
- English Melodies, 7 October 2026: Martyn Brabbins opens the season with The Lark Ascending, Butterworth’s A Shropshire Lad and music by Walton and Holst, with baritone Roderick Williams.
- Thomas Adès conducts, 22 October: Elgar’s Symphony No. 1 and Adès’s own Dawn.
- Tchaikovsky Five, 5 November: with María Dueñas in Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1.
- Monteverdi Vespers of 1610, 21 November, in the galleries of the Sheldonian, before a performance in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.
- The Oxford Beethoven Festival in 2027, including the Eroica on 21 January, the Pastoral on 5 February, Maxim Vengerov in the Violin Concerto on 13 February, and the Choral Symphony on 6 May with soloists including Sir Bryn Terfel, before a transfer to Carnegie Hall.
- Martha Argerich plays Ravel, 12 to 14 February 2027.
Before the orchestral season, Oxford International Opera gave its first production, Puccini’s Tosca, with Sir Bryn Terfel as Scarpia, Carmen Giannattasio and Saimir Pirgu, on 24 and 26 September 2026 at the New Theatre.
Christ Church Cathedral Choir
There has been a choir at Christ Church since 1526, when John Taverner was its organist and master of the choristers. The cathedral is also the college chapel of Christ Church. The choir has sixteen boy choristers from Christ Church Cathedral School and twelve adult singers, six professional lay clerks and six student academical clerks. It was all male until 2019, when it appointed its first female clerk. It sings services in term time, at Christmas and at Easter.
The Choir of New College
William of Wykeham founded New College, and its choir, in 1379, which makes it one of England’s oldest choral foundations. It has about sixteen boy choristers from New College School, with undergraduate academical clerks and professional lay clerks, and is directed by Robert Quinney. The choir has made more than 110 recordings, runs its own label, Novum, and has won two Gramophone Awards.
How to hear Evensong
Choral Evensong at Christ Church and New College is a church service, not a concert, and visitors are welcome to attend. Times change with the university calendar, so check the cathedral’s and the college’s service lists before you go, and arrive early.
Frequently asked questions
What is the oldest concert hall in Oxford?
The Holywell Music Room, opened in 1748, described as the oldest purpose-built music room in Europe.
When are the Oxford Coffee Concerts?
At 11.15am nearly every Sunday of the year, in the Holywell Music Room. The ticket includes a coffee at The King’s Arms beforehand.
Where does the Oxford Philharmonic play?
Mostly at the Sheldonian Theatre on Broad Street. Its Tosca in September 2026 was at the New Theatre.
When is Monteverdi’s Vespers in the 2026/27 season?
On 21 November 2026 at the Sheldonian Theatre, conducted by Marios Papadopoulos.
Oxford Philharmonic: full 2026/27 season
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org, Holywell Music Room
- coffeeconcerts.com, Oxford Coffee Concerts
- en.wikipedia.org, Sheldonian Theatre
- oxfordphil.com, 2026/27 season
- oxfordphil.com, Tosca, Oxford International Opera
- oxfordphil.com, Monteverdi Vespers of 1610
- en.wikipedia.org, Christ Church Cathedral Choir
- en.wikipedia.org, Choir of New College, Oxford
This article was written by the Oxford Society editorial desk from the public sources listed above. We are not affiliated with the people, companies or institutions it describes.
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