Oxford May Music Festival 2026

Unique fusion of science lectures and classical music, in linked concerts and talks. Come, learn, enjoy.
St John's Garden Quadrangle Auditorium, St John's College, St Giles OX1 3JP, Sat 2 - Mon 4 May 2026. NB The Garden Quadrangle is right at the Parks Road end of St John's College and entry from Parks Road is best for those of limited mobility.

Events

OMM Concert 1: Works by Brown and Elgar

James Francis Brown wrote his trio in 1996 when he was 27; it is full of the optimism and energy of youth. In contrast, the Elgar is a piece from his twilight years, redolent with the trauma and sorrow of the Great War.
St John's Garden Quadrangle Auditorium
St John's College St Giles
Sat 2nd May, 2 - 3pm
£100/£85 for Full Festival Pass; £25/£20 for evening concerts; £15/£12 for daytime concerts; £3/£2 for lectures

OMM Concert 2: Film Music in the Flow of Time

Oxford May Music goes to the movies! In addition to classics from Saint-Saens, Shostakovich and Bernstein, our Musical Director plays works from Dario Marianelli, who wrote a violin concerto for him; Jack recorded the movie sound track for several of Dario’s works.
St John's Garden Quadrangle Auditorium
St John's College St Giles
Sat 2nd May, 7.30 - 9.30pm
£100/£85 for Full Festival Pass; £25/£20 for evening concerts; £15/£12 for daytime concerts; £3/£2 for lectures

There's Gold in them thar Stars

With Professor Nial Tanvir, FRS (University of Leicester). In recent years teams of modern-day gold prospectors have shown that heavy elements like gold, platinum and uranium are created in the violent explosions triggered by the collisions of incredibly dense neutron-stars.
St John's Garden Quadrangle Auditorium
St John's College St Giles
Sat 2nd May, 5.15 - 6.15pm
£100/£85 for Full Festival Pass; £25/£20 for evening concerts; £15/£12 for daytime concerts; £3/£2 for lectures

OMM Concert 4: Nicholas Daniel and Friends

Nicholas Daniel is an old friend of the Festival and makes a welcome return, along with another old friend, the Mozart 'Gran Partita' arranged for oboe, strings and piano. The rest of his programme is an eclectic mix of contemporary pieces and those from the 20th century.
St John's Garden Quadrangle Auditorium
St John's College St Giles
Sun 3rd May, 7.30 - 9.45pm
£100/£85 for Full Festival Pass; £25/£20 for evening concerts; £15/£12 for daytime concerts; £3/£2 for lectures

The Symphony of Flocks: Collective Behaviour in Birds

Using homing pigeons and other species as model systems, Professor Steve Portugal explains how group members compromise on speed and spacing to maintain cohesion, navigating complex landscapes while balancing aerodynamic costs and social benefits
St John's Garden Quadrangle Auditorium
St John's College St Giles
Sun 3rd May, 5.15 - 6.15pm
£100/£85 for Full Festival Pass; £25/£20 for evening concerts; £15/£12 for daytime concerts; £3/£2 for lectures

OMM Concert 3: Einstein: A Life in Science and Music

This lecture-concert is the book launch for Einstein - A Life in Science and Music, published by Oxford University Press in February. The lecture outlines Einstein’s passion for music, illustrated by pieces he played and composers with whom he had a particular connection.
St John's Garden Quadrangle Auditorium
St John's College St Giles
Sun 3rd May, 2 - 3.45pm
£100/£85 for Full Festival Pass; £25/£20 for evening concerts; £15/£12 for daytime concerts; £3/£2 for lectures

OMM Concert 7: Wagner’s Ring for People Who Can’t Be Bothered to Sit Through It

Rainer Hersch is on a mission to stop people confusing Wagner's Ring Cycle with Lord of the Rings. With the aid of no more than a piano, a funny slide show and his own wit, he is going to boil the whole wobbling edifice of Richard Wagner’s TotalArtWork down to just 60 minutes
St John's Garden Quadrangle Auditorium
St John's College St Giles
Mon 4th May, 6 - 8.30pm
£100/£85 for Full Festival Pass; £25/£20 for evening concerts; £15/£12 for daytime concerts; £3/£2 for lectures

How Antibodies Fight Infection from Inside Our Cells

In this talk, Professor Leo James will discuss recent work uncovering how this remarkable system of intracellular antibody immunity works and how we are exploiting our understanding to design new therapeutics for the treatment of diverse diseases from infection to neurodegeneration.
St John's Garden Quadrangle Auditorium
St John's College St Giles
Mon 4th May, 4 - 5pm
£100/£85 for Full Festival Pass; £25/£20 for evening concerts; £15/£12 for daytime concerts; £3/£2 for lectures

OMM Concert 5:The Seasons

Peter Tchaikovsky - 'The Seasons', Op. 37a Elena Langer - 'Seasons'. Katya Apekisheva - piano. Katya intertwines one of Tchaikovsky’s most charming compositions with a new work, premiered in 2025, by Elena Langer, inspired by the poetry of Philip Larkin.
St John's Garden Quadrangle Auditorium
St John's College St Giles
Mon 4th May, 11am - 12pm
£100/£85 for Full Festival Pass; £25/£20 for evening concerts; £15/£12 for daytime concerts; £3/£2 for lectures

OMM Concert 6: Barber and Brahms

Samuel Barber - Adagio for string quartet, Op. 11 Johannes Brahms - String Sextet No. 1 in B-flat major, Op. 18. Jack Liebeck - violin, Joshua Fisher - violin, Ben Roskams - viola, Sarah-Jane Bradley - viola, Thomas Carroll - cello, Geirþrúður Anna Guðmundsdóttir – cello.
St John's Garden Quadrangle Auditorium
St John's College St Giles
Mon 4th May, 2 - 3pm
£100/£85 for Full Festival Pass; £25/£20 for evening concerts; £15/£12 for daytime concerts; £3/£2 for lectures
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