This year marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Ralph Vaughan Williams. English Sinfonia paid tribute to him last week by placing his most popular work, The Lark Ascending, at the centre of their programme. The composer began work on this piece before the outbreak of the First World War but only completed it in 1919. Janice Graham, leader of the English Sinfonia, played the solo violin part. She captured beautifully the pathos in the music, bringing to it a sense of nostalgia for a lost world, the soaring song of the lark both representing and recalling an unattainable past.

Prior to the Vaughan Williams, the orchestra had opened with Rossini's overture to La Scala di Seta, a boisterously good-humoured piece with a famously difficult oboe part excellently performed.The third work we heard was Britten's Simple Symphony, a piece based on material he wrote during his childhood. There are four short contrasting sections. The second of these, Playful Pizzicato, Britten marked to be performed "as fast as possible". The complex rhythms demand considerable precision from the musicians and the English Sinfonia's performance was spot-on, winning spontaneous applause from the audience.

After the interval came the first public performance of a new work by the orchestra's artistic advisor Geoffrey Alexander (pictured). Titled Dream of Songs, the piece includes a lyrical violin solo written for Graham. The players performed with feeling music which draws on the sound world of the late 19th century, and especially the music of Max Bruch from which it quotes.

The finale was provided by Haydn's Symphony No 53. This work opens with a slow, majestic introduction and sparkles throughout with inventiveness. The second movement is particularly charming and it is easy to see why it became so popular in Haydn's day. The Sinfonia's playing was full of the elegance and wit this music invites.

"A delightful evening," was the verdict of a woman sitting next to us. "The music looked so simple, but hearing it . . . especially the Vaughan Williams, was wonderful." Judging by the prolonged and enthusiastic applause, the rest of the audience was of a similar opinion.

The next opportunity to hear the English Sinfonia in Oxford is the opening concert of the North Wall Festival on July 2. The programme includes Mozart's Haffner Symphony and Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in which the soloist will be Daniel Hope. Book early if you want tickets.