Music at Oxford is back for its 25th season — and it’s bigger and better than ever, says artistic programme manager Tamsyn Howell Sprent. She talks to NICOLA LISLE about what’s in store

It will be party time for Music at Oxford this season as it celebrates 25 years of putting on high-quality music concerts in the city — and everyone is invited to join in the celebrations. The milestone will be marked on May 2 next year with a gala at the Sheldonian Theatre, which will bring together two of the country’s best-loved singers — the soprano Dame Felicity Lott and baritone Sir Thomas Allen.

“We’re not making a huge thing about the anniversary because I think it will be very difficult to keep that momentum going over a whole season,” Tamsyn Howell Sprent told me. “So we decided to focus all our energies and celebrations on that one concert. It’ll be a real gala-style event, and we’re going to produce a special programme for the concert, which will have the history of Music at Oxford, so that will be quite an interesting memento. It will be a lovely event, I think, a real one-off.”

There may only be one concert dedicated to the anniversary, but the sheer scale and variety of the new season could be seen as a celebration in itself. In 25 years, Music at Oxford has come a long way, and Tamsyn is constantly looking for ways to extend and improve on past seasons.

“Music at Oxford’s big selling point is that we go for the highest calibre of artist and we’re very lucky that we are close to London, so we can attract some really great artists. But we want to combine that with promoting young artists as well. We’re looking at developing artists from the early stages right through to young artists who are already performing on a world platform.

“We’ve got more concerts this year than ever before, so we’re making music even more available to our audiences. Because we’ve got more concerts, we are diversifying a bit. So it’s not just big orchestral concerts in the Sheldonian — we’re crossing over into other genres as well.”

Unusually, the new season opens tonight with a candlelit performance of Rachmaninov’s Vespers at Christ Church Cathedral by the choir Tenebrae, which offers a startling contrast to the customary orchestral opening at the Sheldonian.

“I think it will be very moving and intense,” said Tamsyn. “Tenebrae are arguably one of the best choirs in the world. They try to create the power and passion you get with a big cathedral choir, but reduce it down to a smaller chamber choir. So you get the precision but still with the passion. It’s going to be quite electric.”

An equally moving experience will see two legendary ensembles, the Chilingirian Quartet and the Hilliard Ensemble, coming together to present a special Good Friday programme of Haydn’s Seven Last Words on the Cross, interspersed with Gesualdo’s Responsorias.

“A lot of people would think it’s a bit risky putting something on Good Friday, but the Responsorias were written specifically for that day. We will be the only concert in the country that will have that exact programme. It’s a real one-off. So I’m particularly excited about that one.”

As part of Music at Oxford’s commitment to diversifying, there will be an evening of jazz and musical greats from the American Songbook, performed by another two legendary musicians, Richard Rodney Bennett and Claire Martin.

“We’re turning the Sheldonian into a Jazz Palace,” laughed Tamsyn. “It’s nice to offer our audiences something a bit more relaxed and laid back, a bit more casual. And people can buy drinks. You can’t normally do drinks at the Sheldonian, because there’s so little space, but we thought you can’t have a jazz night without offering liquid refreshment!”

In another bold move, Music at Oxford has teamed up with Oxford Contemporary Music to promote the Brodsky Quartet and kora player/composer Tunde Jegede in an evening of traditional classical and new music for kora (a 21-string African harp-lute) and strings, which will include Jegede’s new piece for kora and quartet.

“It’s an interesting crossing over of western and African music, and I think it will be quite special,” said Tamsyn. “I’m very pleased to extend our boundaries a bit.”

The season also sees the Oxford premiere of Howard Goodall’s Eternal Light: A Requiem, to be performed by the Christ Church Cathedral Choir, and Tamsyn hopes to repeat last year’s Springboard event, which provides a platform for young performers. Top artists appearing include soprano Elizabeth Watts, guitarists John Williams and John Etheridge, the Britten Sinfonia, the Kungsbacka Piano Trio and legendary pianist Andras Schiff.

For full details of the new season, visit www.musicatoxford.com. Box office: 0870 7500659.