The Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra plays Gershwin in a programme that follows the success of the same concert in New York.
The Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra are playing Encounters with Gershwin at The Sheldonian Theatre on Thursday 13 May 2027, starting at 19:30. It's a programme that puts classical performance alongside jazz and popular idioms, and it's not the first time it's gone out — the same set played to a sold-out house at Zankel Hall in New York, so this is the Oxford run of a show that's already had its legs tested.
The orchestra won't be on their own for this one. They're joined by Lizzie Ball and James Pearson, with the orchestra's own soloists stepping forward to take the lead on different parts of the evening. It's a Gershwin-focused bill, and the whole thing is built around that crossover between the concert hall and the jazz club, with the orchestra moving between the two throughout the night.
There's a bit of a twist to how the orchestra is presented here, too. The programme is described as bringing the musicians to the stage in a way the audience has never heard them before, which suggests it's not just a standard orchestral arrangement. Between the guest soloists and the orchestra's own players taking turns in the spotlight, the focus shifts around the stage rather than staying fixed on a single conductor or lead.
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It's a Thursday night, so it's a mid-week one rather than a weekend date. The Sheldonian is right in the centre of town, and the music starts at 19:30.
