Oxford’s premier mixed voice choir
Elgar: The Kingdom – Oxford Bach Choir, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Benjamin Nicholas
We were thrilled to perform The Kingdom as the second part of our Elgar Project. The concert was hugely successful, and we enjoyed working with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, and our unrivalled quartet of soloists, Sophie Bevan, Catherine Wyn Rogers, Benjamin Hulett and Gareth Brynmor John. The audience seemed to enjoy the concert too!
“The real heroes of the evening were the OBC for digging deep and realising the symphonic sweep of the score so convincingly.”
“We thought it was absolutely brilliant, with first-class performances all round. And the work itself is a revelation – I had never heard it right through.”
“I enormously enjoyed The Kingdom (the first time I’d heard it performed since the OBC’s performance in 1970). The choir sang really confidently and well, the Bournemouth orchestra was excellent and the soloists as stellar as you could have had them.”
“In the top 5 live concerts I’ve ever attended.”
“I thought it was a quite magnificent evening. By giving the work without interval, the performance captured the tonal architecture and symphonic sweep of Elgar’s score like no other I have ever heard. The choir had clearly rehearsed very carefully. Their contribution was exemplary. The OBC is to be congratulated on the completion of its Elgar project and its championship of The Apostles and The Kingdom which, in my view at any rate, rank amongst the composer’s finest achievements.”
“You were excellent last night. It was really impressive. And watching Ben conduct it was incredible – beautiful to watch.”
We are also excited to report that the concert was given a 4* review by The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/mar/17/the-kingdom-oxford-bach-choir-bso-nicholas-review-elgar
Oxford Sings: Carmina Burana
We are thrilled to be involved in the launch of the Cultural Programme at the new Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities at the University of Oxford on July 4th 2026. In the morning, a concert brings together students from across Oxfordshire as part of our Schools Choral Programme, which supports music-making and choral singing in local schools. Expect a wide-ranging programme of music, classical, contemporary and a few surprises, all performed by the next generation of singers in Oxford.
During the afternoon members of the Oxford Bach Choir will join students from the Schools Choral Programme as well as Merton College Choir and the BBC Singers for an informal concert in the Grand Hall of the Schwarzman Centre.
The day-long celebration culminates in a joint concert in the stunning new Sohmen Concert Hall where Merton College Choir, the Oxford Bach Choir and Conductor Benjamin Nicholas bring Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana to life. From the thunderous opening of O Fortuna, a movement that’s become iconic in film, television, and popular culture, Carl Orff’s cantata grabs hold and doesn’t let go. Based on medieval poems that celebrate the fortune, fate and unpredictability of life, Carmina Burana is both ancient and modern, and irresistibly theatrical.
Online booking for this event opens at 10:00 on 14 Oct 2025. For more details, see https://www.schwarzmancentre.ox.ac.uk/whats-on
