Past Concerts
We have a searchable archive of our concert performances going back to 1986.
Also, below can be found details of our performances over the last 10 years.
Donizetti - The Elixir of Love
Date: Saturday 6th July 2024
Venue: St John the Evangelist Church, Iffley Rd, Oxford
Conductor: Chris Gill
The professional touring company Heritage Opera makes its debut appearance at SJE with Donizetti's comic masterpiece "The Elixir of Love", semi-staged and sung in English, and accompanied by the Isis Chamber Orchestra. This wonderful opera is jam-packed with memorable tunes, including the famous tenor aria "Una furtiva lagrima".
In rural England, early 1940s, land girl Adina is pursued by two would-be suitors: the simple-minded Home Guard volunteer Nemorino and the cocky Sergeant Belcore. When the spiv "doctor" Dulcamara visits the village with his miracle cures, Nemorino asks if he has an "Elixir of Love". Ever the salesman, Dulcamara repurposes a bottle of cheap wine to the credulous Nemorino. But then, magically, the "Elixir of Love" seems to have its desired effect...
Date: 7.30pm on Saturday 4th May 2024
Venue: St Michael and All Angels' Church, Lonsdale Rd, Summertown, Oxford
Conductor: Caroline Hobbs-Smith
Piano: Dominic Piers-Smith
Bagpipes: Neil Esslemont
Music:
Vaughan Williams - Wasps Overture
Ravel - Piano Concerto in G
Fauré - Pelleas & Melisande Suite
Maxwell Davies - Orkney Wedding and Sunrise
40th Anniversary Celebration!
Date: 7.30pm on Saturday 14th October 2023
Venue: St Andrew's Church, Linton Rd, Oxford
Conductors: Paul Cox & Caroline Hobbs-Smith
Trumpet: Sasha Canter
Music:
Dvorak - Czech Suite
Hummel - Trumpet Concerto
Ibert - Hommage to Mozart
Beethoven - Symphony No.8
Date: 7.30pm on Saturday 11th February 2023
Venue: St Andrews Church, Summertown
Conductor: Caroline Hobbs-Smith
Violin & 'Cello: Rachel & Tabitha Appel
Music:
Beethoven - Egmont Overture
Brahms - Double Concerto for Violin & 'Cello
Mendelssohn - Symphony No.3 "Scottish"
Date: 7.30pm on Saturday 15th October, 2022
Venue: St Michael and All Angels Church, Summertown
Conductor: Neil Farrow
Piano: Dominic Piers-Smith
Music:
Rameau - Overture to Les Boréades
Schumann - Piano Concerto in A minor
Beethoven - Symphony No.7
Date: 7.30pm on Saturday 14th May, 2022
Venue: All Saints Church, Marcham (near Abingdon)
Conductor: Caroline Hobbs-Smith
Music:
Faure - Masques et Bergamasques
Benjamin Britten - A time there was... (Suite on English Folk Tunes for Orchestra)
Debussy - Claire de Lune
Ravel - Mother Goose Suite
Faure - Pavane
Debussy - Petite Suite
This was a charity fund-raising concert in support of
Medecins Sans Frontieres.
Hansel and Gretel
Date: Saturday 30th November 2019, 6pm
Venue: Rendall Hall, Rye St Antony school, Headington
Conductor: Chris Gill
Date: Saturday 2nd November 2019, 6.30pm
Venue: Greyfriars Church, Iffley Rd, Oxford
Musical Director: Chris Gill
Fauré - Requiem
This is part of a requiem for All Souls Day, featuring the Byrd chorus, and singers from Greyfriars church.
Date: Saturday 15th June 2019, 7.30pm
Musical Director: Duncan Saunderson
Music to include:
Schubert - Mass in Eb
Date: Saturday 18th May 2019, 7.30pm
Venue: All Saints Church, Marcham
Conductor: Paul Cox
Baritone: Christian Bradley
'Cello: Laurens Price-Novak
Music:
JS Bach - Cantata 'Ich Habe Genug'
CPE Bach - Symphony in E flat
CPE Bach - 'Cello Concerto in A major
JC Bach - Symphony Op. 6 No. 6 in G minor
This was a charity fund-raising concert in aid of Hanna's Orphanage.
Some short clips from the concert:
Date: Saturday 2nd February 2019, 7.30pm
Venue: St Andrew's Church, Linton Rd, Summertown
Conductor: Caroline Hobbs-Smith
Piano: Julian Hellaby
Music:
Mendelssohn - Hebrides Overture
Beethoven - Piano Concerto no. 4
Nino Rota - Balli
Saint-Saens - Symphony no. 2
Amahl and the Night Visitors
Date: Saturday 1st December 2018, 6pm
Venue: Rendall Hall, Rye St Antony school, Headington
Conductor: Chris Gill
Review, from Daily Information
Date: Saturday 10th November, 2018
Venue: St Andrew's Church, Summertown
Conductor: Paul Cox
Horn: David Garbutt
Music:
Britten - Sinfonietta
Mozart - Horn Concerto No. 2
Brahms - Serenade No. 2
Strauss - Overture and dance from Ariadne auf Naxos
Date: Saturday 15th September 2018
Venue: Denham College, Marcham (near Abingdon)
Music:
Handel - Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
Bach - Suite No. 2 (Flute: Lorraine Jarvis)
Boyce - Symphony No. 4
Warlock - Capriol Suite
Così Fan Tutte
Date: Saturday 30th June 2017, 7.30pm
Venue: Rendall Hall, Rye St Antony school, Headington
Conductor: Chris Gill
ISIS Chamber Orchestra
Date: Saturday 10th February 2018 at 7.30pm
Venue: St Andrew's Church, Linton Road, Oxford
Conductor: Caroline Hobbs-Smith
Flute: Claire Edmiston
Music:
Rossini - Overture to The Barber of Seville
Nielsen - Flute Concerto
Schubert - Entr'actes to Rosamunde
Schubert - Symphony No.8 (Unfinished)
ISIS Chamber Orchestra,
with the East Oxford Community Choir
Date: Sunday 15th October 2017 at 5pm
Venue: St John the Evangelist Church, Oxford
Conductor: Paul Cox
Viola: Diana Mathews
Music:
Gabriel Fauré - Incidental music to Pelléas et Mélissande
Jean Françaix - Rhapsodie for viola and orchestra
John Rutter - Fancies for choir and orchestra
Maurice Ravel - Le Tombeau de Couperin
Ralph Vaughan Williams - Flos Campi for solo viola, choir and orchestra
The Magic Flute
Dates: Saturday 1st July 2017, 7.30pm
Venue: Rendall Hall, Rye St Antony school, Headington
Conductor: Chris Gill
Date: Saturday 13th May 2017, 7.30pm
Venue: All Saints Church, Marcham (near Abingdon)
Conductor: Chris Gill
Flute: Rachel Wright
Clarinet: Ruth Foxman
Music:
Vaughan Williams - Two Hymn Tune Preludes (Dominus regit me, Eventide) for small orchestra
Danzi - Sinfonia Concertante for flute, clarinet and orchestra
Grieg - Holberg Suite
Haydn - Symphony no. 80
Poster
This was a charity fund-raising concert in aid of the Marcham Community Group.
Date: Saturday 11th February 2017, 7.30pm
Venue: St Michael and All Angels Church, Londsdale Rd, Summertown
Conductor: Paul Cox
Violin: Jake Rea
Music:
Gluck - Overture Iphigénie en Aulide
Mendelssohn - Violin Concerto
Beethoven - Romance No. 2 for Violin and Orchestra
Beethoven - Symphony No.8
This concert was a charity fund-raising concert in aid of Water Aid.
It was also dedicated to Alex Harper,
who died suddenly on Thursday 3rd November 2016.
Alex was not only a stalwart of the 'cello section, but also
secretary of the Isis Chamber Orchestra for many years, and
an encyclopaedic source of information on all things musical,
very helpful when it came to
selecting programmes for our concerts.
In recent years he also successfully conducted two of our concerts:
in May 2016, and in May 2014,
the latter of which included Haydn's Symphony No. 45, The Farewell.
We will miss you enormously, Alex.
ISIS Chamber Orchestra,
with the East Oxford Community Choir
Dates & Venues:
Saturday 15th October 2016 at 7.30pm,
at St Michael and All Angels Church, Lonsdale Rd, Summertown
Sunday 16th October 2016 at 4pm,
at St John the Evangelist Church, Oxford
Conductor: Paul Cox
Music:
Mozart - Magic Flute overture
Mozart - Symphony No. 31
Mozart - C minor mass K427
This concert was a charity fund-raising concert in aid of UNICEF.
Don Giovanni
Date: Saturday 25th June, 2016, 7.30pm
Venue: Rye St Antony school, Headington
Conductor: Chris Gill
Date: Saturday 14th May, 2016, 7.30pm
Venue: All Saints Church, Marcham (near Abingdon)
Conductor: Alex Harper
Music:
Handel - Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
Handel - Concerto grosso, Op. 3, No. 5
Boyce - Symphony No. 8
Handel - Concerto grosso, Op. 3, No. 4
Respighi - Ancient Airs and Dances Suite No. 3
Rameau - Suite from Les Indes Galantes
This concert was in aid of the Marcham Community Group, which helps to provide facilities for the community.
Date: Saturday 30th January, 2016
Venue:St Helen's Church, Abingdon
Conductor: Paul Cox
Piano: Simon Watterton
Music:
Mendelssohn - Overture Die Schöne Melusine
Mozart - Piano Concerto no. 25 in C, K.503
Finzi - Eclogue for piano and strings
Beethoven - Symphony No. 1
![[violoncello]](images/cello-small.jpg)
Date: Saturday 17th October, 2015
Venue: Church of St Michael and All Angels, Summertown
Conductor: Paul Cox
'Cello: Jacqui Johnson
Music:
Smetana - Overture The Bartered Bride
Finzi - 'Cello Concerto
Dvorak - Symphony No. 8
This was a charity fund-raising concert in aid of Rosie's Rainbow Fund.
![[headshots of the four composers]](images/composers.gif)
Date: Saturday 16th May, 2015
Venue: All Saints Church, Marcham (near Abingdon)
Conductor: Caroline Hobbs-Smith
Clarinet: Ruth Foxman
Music:
Copland - Quiet City
Weber - Clarinet Concerto No.2
Ireland - Suite for Strings
Haydn - Symphony No. 93
This was a charity fund-raising concert in aid of the Moldova Lifeline Project.
Date: Saturday 7th February 2015, 7.30pm
Venue: St Helen's Church, Abingdon
Conductor: Paul Cox
Viola: Diana Mathews
Music:
Butterworth - Banks of Green Willow
Vaughan Williams - Suite for Viola
Weber - Andante and Rondo Ungarese
Schubert - Symphony No.6
Poster
Proceeds from this concert went to the Rotary Club of Abingdon's Youth Projects
Date: Saturday 11th October 2014, 7.30pm
Venue: St Michael and All Angels Church, Londsdale Rd, Summertown
Prices: £10 (£8 and £4 concessions)
Tickets: available from the Book House, Summertown, or on the door
Conductor: Paul Cox
Violin: Jake Rea
Music:
Beethoven - Leonora Overture No. 1
Dvorak - Violin Concerto
Beethoven - Symphony No.2
This was a charity fund-raising concert in aid of the Cutteslowe Community Association.