Education

Each year Oxford Lieder expands its education and outreach programme, with events throughout the year and a cluster of activity around the annual Oxford Lieder Festival each October.  It serves people of all ages in and around Oxford.  In 2012 up to 500 people will take part directly in a variety of learning projects lasting from one hour to two weeks.  Over 2,000 will attend as observers at  talks and song masterclasses.  To experience such a high-quality programme centring on singing in the context of one of the most prestigious Festivals in Europe leaves a great impression on those who attend.   
Througout the month of October, the Festival's ever-expanding Education Programme involves:

  • an ambitious creative writing and performance project involving two local primary schools in Oxfordshire.
  • a six-day International Residential Mastercourse for advanced singers and pianists led by Wolfgang Holzmair
  • a Festival Chorus, with a series of rehearsals/ workshops led by Jonathan Williams and Fiona Dobie culminating in a short performance
  • an extensive programme of pre-concert lectures, talks and events
  • a “Bring and Sing” event giving amateurs of all ages the chance to perform on the famous Holywell Music Room stage, the setting for all the major Festival recitals
  • masterclasses by given James Gilchrist and by Sophie Daneman, for University and Music College students and advanced non-professional singers respectively
  • a Composition Workshop with Oxford University lecturers for students presenting newly-written songs, in association with the university's Music Faculty

Free admission events also open the Festival’s doors to many more people:

  • The Schools’ Song Project performance (12th October 1.30pm in the Ashmolean Museum)
  • Pre-concert Talks each evening at 7pm
  • Free places at recitals allowing people in the Oxford community unused to concerts, including our ‘Over 50s Singing Group’ project members and the isolated or disadvanged to add a new and positive dimension to their lives by hearing live performances.

If you would like to support any area of Oxford Lieder’s education work, from a small donation to help cover the costs of the Schools Project to supporting a bursary for the Master Course, please do contact our Development Officer Peter Burrows: peter@oxfordlieder.co.uk.