Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment to perform in Oxford

The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment will be at Oxford's Sheldonian Theatre on November 17 to perform J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos.

It will offer a rare chance to hear the concertos as Bach intended, played on original instruments with animal gut strings and valveless brass.

The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment perform 'Bach Christmas Oratorio' in December 2023 (Image: Mark Allan) The concert will include soloists Lisa Beznosiuk playing the flute, Rachel Beckett and Catherine Latham playing recorders, Leo Duarte paying the oboe, David Blackadder playing the trumpet, and Steven Devine playing the harpsichord.

Cecelia Bruggemeyer, double bassist and chair of the orchestra's players’ artistic committee, said: "The Brandenburg Concertos are some of the most beloved works in the repertoire, and we are thrilled to be sharing them with audiences across the UK this autumn, in the concert hall and beyond.

"They are such jewels, brilliantly showcasing, not just our beloved baroque instruments and players, but Bach’s endless imagination and inventiveness in creating these six unique sound worlds."

The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment perform 'Bach Christmas Oratorio' in December 2023 (Image: Mark Allan) The tour, featuring young people from the orchestra’s Dreamchasing Young Producers programme, will visit Manchester, Malvern, Basingstoke, London, Portsmouth, Saffron Walden, Oxford, and Bradford-on-Avon.

The Dreamchasing Young Producers programme teaches young people how to produce a show, from stage design and lighting to marketing, finances, and health and safety, and allows them to support stage management and front-of-house activities.