Em Marshall, Festival Director, says: "It was a fantastic opening to the Festival, attended by an enthusiastic audience. Music featured ranged from renaissance dance movements by Bloxham School's Recorder Consort, and Purcell's moving Music For a While (Patrick Berry from Bradfield College) through to Malcolm Arnold's Shanties for Wind Quintet - fiendishly difficult but brilliantly performed by Radley College boys.

"Other highlights included an extremely accomplished performance of Holst's beautiful Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda, by students from Oxford High School, wonderful solos from Radley's Rory Robinson (on saxophone - Dave McGarry's Dreams of You) and Jonathan Williams (oboe - Richardson's Roundelay) and, astoundingly enough, an impromptu performance of an Andrew Lloyd Webber hit that surprised Radley's Anthony Williams, who was hosting the evening, as much as it did the audience! With music-making of such a high standard from Oxfordshire's youth, the Festival can only go from strength to strength."