Classical music has traditionally been tarred with an elitist image. Despite the advent of Classic FM and attempts to televise opera and various performances, it is still perceived to be out of reach for many.

But the Oxford Philomusica is making strenuous efforts to change all that by working at every level of society, from performances at the Sheldonian Theatre, to its work with youngsters in disadvantaged areas of the city.

It works with many schools across Oxford, in partnership with the Oxfordshire County Music Service, offering pupils the chance to do a solo piece as a preliminary to the main performance.

Director David Haenlein said: "We are encouraging young talent and we invited selected musicians at school to play with the orchestra in rehearsal, which is a great experience.

"We do a similar thing with university students, where a selected few are given a chance to play in a performance."

Across the city, the Philomusica now manages the Blackbird Leys Community Choir which was originally formed from local residents and made into a television series.

Mr Haenlein added: "We are managing the transition for the choir from being extremely high profile and performing in Milan and the Royal Albert Hall, to becoming an ongoing community choir and that has its challenges.

"It's now working successfully and we are doing a concert with them featuring songs from Broadway shows at the Sheldonian in June."

Workshops are also being held with pupils at Pegasus School in Blackbird Leys, focusing on various topics such as the environment, using music and playing instruments.

"We go in with some basic instruments but then we encourage them to make their own and come up with their own compositions on a particular theme.

"There are also singing workshops that go beyond the children and involve teachers and parents. That is a real community event."

The orchestra is also involved with Mulberry Bush School in Standlake, which houses pupils with severe emotional problems.

And it has just finished a workshop at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Headington, working with physically disabled patients.

These efforts to work with a variety of groups of all ages and abilities meant that Oxford Philomusica was a worthy winner of the Charity and Community award sponsored by The Oxford Times at the Oxfordshire Business Awards.

And Mr Haenlein is convinced that the recognition has benefited the organisation in a variety of ways.

"It has made a huge difference and has been very significant in that it has helped demonstrate we are working across a huge range of different areas featuring a broad range of activities that are both educational and therapeutic.

"We put the logo on all our programmes and it also helps us with funding, because we do not receive any backing from the Arts Council for our core activity."

Income is a continuing struggle for the Philomusica. Ticket sales can only provide up to about 30 per cent, with the rest coming via routes such as fundraising, private donors and foundations.

This is perhaps surprising, considering the Philomusica is Britain's fastest growing professional symphony orchestra.

"We are a stable business with controlled finances at a time when many organisations find it difficult to survive."

Corporate sponsorship has not been so successful but a full-time development executive is being recruited and they will be committed to fundraising, especially in this area.

But despite that, Mr Haenlein is ambitious and wants to expand beyond the county boundaries.

He points out that while the Sheldonian is a beautiful venue, it only holds 700 people, when he knows the orchestra could sell out a hall of up to 1,200 people.

As a result, it is spreading its wings and targeting areas such as Swindon, where there is a pool of larger organisations which could be potential sponsors.

A concert at the town's Wyvern Theatre has been arranged for April with the aim of making it a regular feature.

The Philomusica is made up of professional musicians who work for it on a freelance basis, although up to 90 per cent of those play every performance. Up to 80 or 90 can be involved for bigger events.

It is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year and will mark the occasion with a special party on August 4.

The next ten years will hopefully see national international recognition develop significantly in keeping with Oxford's world-class credentials.

o For details on how to enter the 2008 Oxfordshire Business Awards see www.oxfordshirebusinessawards.co.uk