Alfred Brendel, Andreas Schiff, Simon Rattle, Andrew David, Paul Lewis . . . the list goes on and on, a galaxy of international stars that reads like a Who’s Who in Classical Music. What these artists have in common is that they have all performed in Oxford at least once over the past quarter of a century – many of them several times – and it’s all thanks to the varied, imaginative and adventurous programming of music promoters Music at Oxford.

Now two of the biggest names in the operatic world are poised to help Music at Oxford celebrate its success. Opera legends Dame Felicity Lott and Sir Thomas Allen (pictured), accompanied by the equally legendary pianist Malcolm Martineau, will perform in a special gala event at the Sheldonian Theatre on Saturday, and artistic programming manager Tamsyn Howell-Sprent is understandably excited.

“They’re such big stars, it’s lovely to have them,” she says. “And it’s really nice to be able to bring them together, because although they have performed together before, they don’t do it terribly often.

“The programme is going to be a mixture of solos and duets, and will range from operatic arias to lieder to things like Berstein. What’s nice is that they’re basing the programme on things they have done before, but they’ve said they want to tailor it to Oxford, which is great. I think they’re going to be talking to the audience a bit as well, explaining what they’re doing, which we thought was a really nice way of involving the audience. So it should be a lovely celebratory evening.”

Audience members will also be able to purchase a special souvenir programme, which will include highlights of Music at Oxford’s first 25 years, a pictorial timeline, interviews, artist biographies and much more. “There will be lots packed in there,” promises Tamsyn. “It should be interesting, and will be a nice thing for people to take home.”

It must have been a fascinating task researching the history for the programme, I suggest to Tamsyn. “Yes, very exciting and very interesting, just seeing how things have changed hugely. The season has got dramatically bigger. We’ve got a lot more concerts than we had ten years ago, and it’s great to see the seasons developing in different areas in terms of large-scale orchestral events, right down to not being afraid to do very small-scale events, such as a solo cello recital in the Holywell.

“The fact that we’ve made it here is good, because classical music is difficult for a lot of people to maintain, especially when you’re working with big orchestras, which are not cheap just because of the sheer number of musicians involved. It’s no mean feat to make everything work, so it does feel like a real achievement.”

Of course, it’s not only big stars that Music at Oxford has been promoting over the years. There has been an increasing commitment to giving opportunities to young artists, and Tamsyn is particularly proud of the Springboard event, which was established last year to give a platform to rising young talent. “That has been going really well, working with professional artists and young artists, and it’s great that we’ve been able to carry that on this year. Some of the first Springboard artists were invited to perform as part of the main season this year, and it’s been lovely to be able to welcome them back.”

As part of its youth initiatives, Music at Oxford also has a long-standing commitment to promoting winners of the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition. “Sometimes it can be more difficult to get a second performance than to get a premiere, so giving the players an opportunity to perform straight after the competition is something we’ve been able to offer, and to give young people that next step up.”

But, despite Music at Oxford’s undoubted achievements, Tamsyn is determined that the organisation will not rest on its laurels. “We’re constantly looking to do new things, as well as holding on to our core audience that loves our orchestral concerts and the chamber concerts at the Holywell. We’re now looking at moving into more family events, to try to get people at a young age interested in classical music and not to be scared of it.”

Meanwhile, there are other exciting events this season which Tamsyn feels fit very well into the anniversary celebrations. These include co-commissioning a new work by Bob Chilcott with the Oxford Bach Choir, the establishment of a chapel series, and showing a film featuring the popular modern music ensemble I Fagiolini. But the forthcoming gala promises to be particularly memorable.

“It’s lovely that the concert is going to be in the Sheldonian, because we spend such a huge amount of time there,” says Tamsyn. “It’s Music at Oxford’s special venue. A lot of our big events have been there, so it is fitting that our gala concert will be there.”

The Music at Oxford 25th Anniversary Gala is at the Sheldonian Theatre on Saturday at 7.30pm. Box office: 0870 7500659 or visit www.musicatoxford.com