No prima donnas. That’s very much the ethos of the newly-formed Ensemble Ox, which debuts at the Jacqueline du Pré Music Building next week with a programme of 20th- and 21st-century music. Its founders – flautist Marion Ackrill, pianist Rod Varty and percussionist Keith Fairbairn – have experienced groups where there is a lack of cohesion between players and singers, and are determined that Ensemble Ox will be different.

“I want to see that the singers are the same as the players,” says Marion. “We’re all soloists in this group, and we all have equal responsibility to get the thing how we want it. And singers do sometimes feel detached from the players because of this prima donna thing.”

“It’s giving opportunities to people who are not prima donnas,” adds Rod. “They’re ensemble singers by temperament, so they’re much more appreciative of what they’re doing.”

We have gathered in one of the meeting rooms at the new Magdalen College School building, just a stone’s throw from the JDP, and there is an almost tangible air of excitement, anticipation and optimism from three musicians who are clearly passionate about their art. They are united by a desire to get away from some of the mainstream repertoire and look for new material to explore, and to perform in a small, intimate group with unusual instrumental combinations.

“I have always listened to lots of contemporary music and wanted to do it, but haven’t done it for years in a group,” Marion says. “Keith’s a percussionist looking for new stuff to do, and when he began enthusing I found myself saying ‘What I really want to do is have a chamber group that can do all the interesting, funny combinations.’ And Rod and I have known each other for years and done lots of playing together, and we both wanted to do more. Keith and Rod, and most of the group, didn’t know each other at all, so it was a real shot in the dark!”

Keith, a former session musician in London, is delighted to be playing in a chamber ensemble. “In London I was often playing mainly for commercial reasons, so I was often thinking about how much I would get for it, rather than about the music itself. So this gets me back to playing music I wanted to play, and with like-minded musicians.

Rod, a former Oxford organ scholar, is pleased to be getting back to his piano-playing roots after “just one too many Fauré Requiems”.

“This is something fresh, something different, and doing small group work is the most exciting thing. Playing the organ with choirs you’re so often removed from the scene, so it’s really nice to get back to making eye contact with people.

“What we’re looking at is creating some interesting musical events, getting people inspired and involved, and inspiring and involving ourselves.”

The theme for Ensemble Ox’s inaugural programme is folk song and dance, which ties in neatly with the opening of the Oxford Folk Festival on the same night. “All the music is classical music derived from national or folk song or dance,” explains Marion. “All the pieces are very strongly of the place where they come from. Before the concert we’re having a folk band, En Garde, playing French folk music in the foyer.”

At the heart of the programme is a set of folk songs by Berio, originally written for mezzo-soprano and seven instruments, but to be performed here by four singers. “This means we can use the different colours of the voices in different songs, which is quite an exciting thing, I think, and should be quite stimulating,” says Marion.

“The songs are such a varied range of interesting little nuggets as well,” adds Rod. “To have somebody singing one and then somebody different singing another is a really interesting way to do it.”

The evening will open with Summoned by Drums, an improvisation by Keith. “It will start off the proceedings with a kind of explosive beginning, and do some funky, percussion-type rhythms, which will then segue into the next section, which is the Piazzolla.”

The pieces by Piazzolla are a good example of Ensemble Ox’s experimentation with instrument combinations. Written in 1984 for flute and guitar, Café 1930 will be performed by flute and piano and Bordel 1900 by flute and marimba. “It’s a bold thing to do,” admits Rod. “There are four pieces representing the tango from the 1900s to the present, all in different styles. We’ve just taken the first two, so they’ll be quite contrasting.”

The programme also includes Piazzolla’s Milonga per Tre, as well as Mexican dances by Gordon Stout and pieces by Ravel.

“I think we’ve picked a programme that is quite accessible,” says Keith. “The Berio is a stunning, beautiful work, so I hope people will come along.”

Ensemble Ox is at the Jacqueline du Pré Music Building on Friday at 8pm. Box office: 01865 305305 (www.ticketsoxford.com).