OSJ founder and conductor John Lubbock

The Orchestra Of St John’s winter season is well underway with an exciting line-up of concerts spanning Brahms and Beethoven to Gershwin and Ginastera, carols to concerts, sonatas to jazz, fundraisers to messiahs, with the odd lunch thrown in for good measure.

OSJ founder and conductor John Lubbock

The autumn season is being played out between Dorchester Abbey, Holywell Music Rooms, The Sheldonian and Southmoor, as well as launching the new OSJ Chamber Ensemble, and showcasing artist-in-residence Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, so don’t miss out and get booking.

Jeneba Kanneh-Mason. credit Johanna Berghorn pic by Sony Music Entertainment

Jeneba Kanneh-Mason demonstrates why she’s been taken on as artist-in-residence this Saturday (November 7) at Dorchester Abbey. Alongside her depiction of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue – a landmark American work, blending jazz & classical music, famous for its iconic clarinet glissando and capturing the energy of the Roaring Twenties with its mix of syncopation, soulful melodies, & “blue notes”, the concert will also feature Darius Milhaud’s La Création du Monde – a ground-breaking 1923 ballet blending African creation myths with the vibrant sounds of American jazz, Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite and Ginastera‘s Dances from Estancia no 2 and 4. https://www.osj.org.uk/event/jeneba-kanneh-mason-plays-gershwin-7pm-at-dorchester-abbey/

OSJ

In an evening that explores the very best of J S Bach’s unique genius, including perhaps his most popular Brandenburg Concerto, No. 3, and two peerless Double Concertos, for two Violins, and for Violin and Oboe, join OSJ on November 21 at Dorchester Abbey https://www.osj.org.uk/event/bach-7pm-at-dorchester-abbey-3/

Things get festive on December 12 with A Night of Carols at Dorchester Abbey, as OSJ Voices raise the roof in this run up to Christmas with all the classics. https://www.osj.org.uk/event/a-night-of-carols-7pm-at-dorchester-abbey-4/

OSJ

Handel’s Messiah runs for two nights at Dorchester Abbey and then The Sheldonian, on December 19 (BOOK HERE) and 20 (BOOK HERE). Handel composed his famous oratorio in just 24 days, emerging from a period of severe personal and financial hardship to create one of the most celebrated choral masterpieces in history. Legend says King George II was so moved during the Hallelujah Chorus at the London premiere that he stood up, starting a tradition that audiences still follow today. December 19 and December 20 Sheldonian

For more information on OSJ and its concert series go to https://www.osj.org.uk/forthcoming-concerts/