Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra at the Sheldonian Theatre
The Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra kicked off its 2025/26 season at the Sheldonian Theatre on Friday 10 October 2025
Among its many purposes as a historic venue, the Sheldonian Theatre has gained a reputation for world-class performances of classical music. The venue has hosted ensembles from the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra to the London Film Music Orchestra, as well as more contemporary artists such as Gaz Coombes and DJ Cuppy. Among OUEV’s many musical partnerships are the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, who return to the Sheldonian this October to kick off their 2025-26 concert season.
Music has been a critical part of the Sheldonian’s history, stemming back to 1733 with the premiere of Georg Frederick Handel’s Athalia at the venue – a piece that can regularly be heard being performed to this day! Due to its ornate architecture, stunning acoustics, and ‘in-the-round’ audience experience, the venue’s stellar reputation as a concert venue continues.
The Sheldonian excels in providing first-rate hospitality to world-class artists, ranging from Sir Bryn Terfel to Martha Argerich. The venue’s flexibility has brought varied concert programmes to life, hosting stage setups from intimate solo piano recitals to full-scale orchestras and using in-house AV to aid pre-concert talks and performances with narration. As the venue also houses groups like Oxford Bach Choir and Opus 48, these concerts include collaborations with large-scale vocal groups like Crouch End Festival Chorus, utilising choir balconies to platform gargantuan works like Bach’s Mass in B Minor. The Sheldonian is truly a multi-purpose venue and an iconic centre for the arts in Oxford.
The Sheldonian team works with a range of staff and suppliers to pull off concerts of this calibre, forming a large team of venue staff and volunteers to provide the best possible audience experience. We love seeing such a range of new performances and musical instruments entering the venue with the care of experts and professionals, as well as seeing the venue captured in full flow by the orchestra’s camera crews. More recently, we have relished working with suppliers to realise the ambitious creative visions of living composers, such as executing the performance of a concerto for a Beatboxer alongside an Orchestra - which is set to have a sequel piece in the new concert season. There are a whole host of musical icons on our event listing for the coming year, and we can’t wait to continue our work with them!
Please click here to see our list of events: Upcoming events | Sheldonian Theatre.
If you are looking for a truly unique venue in Oxford for a performance of music, dance or spoken word, the Sheldonian is the perfect location. Get in touch with our team today to discuss your event: venueenquiriries@admin.ox.ac.uk
