2008 PROGRAMME
Friday 23 May
7.30pm
DORCHESTER ABBEY
Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, OX10 7HH

PARRY: Jerusalem

HOLBROOKE: Birds of Rhiannon

RAWSTHORNE: Practical Cats

MACKENZIE: Benedictus

BANTOCK: Celtic Symphony

BBC CONCERT ORCHESTRA

BARRY WORDSWORTH | conductor

JEREMY NICHOLAS | narrator

Saturday 24 May
11.00am
KEBLE COLLEGE CHAPEL
Keble College, Oxford, OX1 3PG

SULLIVAN: Sacred music

THE SULLIVAN SINGERS

DAVID OWEN NORRIS | director

IAN PARTRIDGE | tenor

12.15pm
PUSEY ROOM
Keble College, Oxford, OX1 3PG

TALK
Stage or sanctuary? Assessing Sullivan’s hymn tunes and sacred music

IAN BRADLEY

2.30pm
ALL SAINTS’ CHURCH
Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire, OX14 4NJ

ELGAR: There is sweet music

FINZI: Romance

HOLST: Ave Maria

FINZI: Welcome sweet and sacred feast

ELGAR: Serenade for Strings

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Lord, Thou hast been our refuge

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Concerto Accademico

HOLST: Nunc Dimittis

HOWELLS: Serenade for Strings

FINZI: Magnificat

VOX MUSICA

SOUTHBANK SINFONIA STRINGS

5.15pm
ABBEY GUEST HOUSE
Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, OX10 7HH

PRE-CONCERT TALK
The Consumate Anthologist

GILES EASTERBROOK

7.00pm
DORCHESTER ABBEY
Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, OX10 7HH

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Te Deum

O’NEILL: Pastorale

BRIDGE: Suite for Strings

HOLST: Brook Green Suite

BLISS: Pastoral

CITY OF LONDON CHOIR

MILTON KEYNES CITY ORCHESTRA

HILARY DAVAN WETTON | conductor

9.45pm
DORCHESTER ABBEY
Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, OX10 7HH

Piano music by BILLY MEYERL

DAVID OWEN NORRIS | piano

Sunday 25 May
11.00am
THE CHAPEL
Radley College, Oxfordshire, OX14 2HR

PURCELL arr. BRITTEN: Chacony

ALWYN: Three Winter Poems

BRIDGE: Rhapsody for two violins and viola

DELIUS: Late Swallows

BRIDGE: String Quartet no.2

BRIDGE QUARTET

2.30pm
SILK HALL
Radley College, Oxfordshire, OX14 2HR

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis

FINZI: Clarinet Concerto

IRELAND: Downland Suite

ELGAR: Introduction and Allegro

AMARETTI CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

5.15pm
ABBEY GUEST HOUSE
Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, OX10 7HH

PRE-CONCERT TALK
English romantic music and literature

JOHN LEEMAN

7.00pm
DORCHESTER ABBEY
Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, OX10 7HH

ARNE: Symphony no.4

LINLEY: In yonder grove

ARNE: The Judgement of Paris

CANNONS SCHOLARS

JOHN ANDREWS | conductor

9.45pm
DORCHESTER ABBEY
Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, OX10 7HH

AL MANERE MINSTRELSY

THE DUFAY COLLECTIVE

Monday 26 May
11.00am
DORCHESTER ABBEY
Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, OX10 7HH

Songs by BRITTEN, QUILTER, PURCELL, ELGAR, VAUGHAN WILLIAMS, HANDEL, SULLIVAN and others

JAMES BOWMAN | countertenor

ANDREW SWAIT | treble

ANDREW PLANT | piano

2.30pm
ALL SAINTS’ CHURCH
Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire, OX14 4NJ

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: String Quartet no.2

MOERAN: String Quartet in E-flat

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: String Quartet no.1

CARDUCCI QUARTET

5.15pm
ABBEY GUEST HOUSE
Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, OX10 7HH

PRE-CONCERT TALK
“O for a muse of fire”: Dyson and his Agincourt

PAUL SPICER

7.30pm
DORCHESTER ABBEY
Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, OX10 7HH

DYSON: Agincourt

DYSON: Prelude and Postlude

DYSON: Voluntary in D

DYSON: Fantasia and Ground Bass

ELGAR: The Banner of St George

ANDOVER CHORAL SOCIETY

DAVID OWEN NORRIS | conductor

Tuesday 27 May
11.00am
DORCHESTER ABBEY
Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, OX10 7HH

HOLBROOKE: Fantasia-Sonate no.1 (The Haunted Palace)

HOLBROOKE: Rhapsody-Études

HOLBROOKE: Barrage

HOLBROOKE: Fantasie-Sonate no.2 (Destiny)

PANAGIOTIS TROCHOPOULOS | piano

2.30pm
SILK HALL
Radley College, Oxfordshire, OX14 2HR

DELIUS: Légende

DELIUS: Sonata

ALWYN: Sonatina

BRITTEN: Suite, op.6

PHILIPPE GRAFFIN | violin

MARISA GUPTA | piano

5.15pm
ABBEY GUEST HOUSE
Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, OX10 7HH

PRE-CONCERT TALK
“My friends call me Jack”: the legacy of E.J. Moeran

BARRY MARSH

7.30pm
DORCHESTER ABBEY
Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, OX10 7HH

EMF NEW COMMISSIONS CONCERT

MATTHEW CURTIS: Festival Overture

PAUL CARR: Oboe Concerto

CECELIA McDOWALL: The skies in their magnificence

RONALD CORP: Jubilate

PHILIP LANE: LYRIC DANCES

DAVID OWEN NORRIS: Piano Concerto

SOUTHERN SINFONIA

LONDON CHORUS

RONALD CORP | conductor

NICHOLAS DANIEL | oboe

DAVID OWEN NORRIS | piano

LATEST NEWS

We are delighted to announce that ticket booking for the 2025 English Music Festival is now open to all. As usual, we are offering a 10% discount to local residents and to members of selected Composer Societies. Please follow this link for the online Box Office.

The full programme for the 2025 English Music Festival, can be viewed in full on this page. This year, all our events will once again be held in Dorchester-on-Thames, with the concerts taking place in the glorious surroundings of Dorchester Abbey and the talks in the historic Village Hall.

We have recently introduced a new tier to our Friends’ Scheme for Corporate Friends — so, if you own, or help to run, a company or a similar organisation, and would like to enjoy the special benefits that this tier offers, please do consider joining at this level. For more details about our Friends’ Scheme, please follow this link for a description of the tiers and their benefits, together with information about how to join.