The Cultural Programme

06/02/2025

05/02/2025

This May, don't miss a unique event marking 300 years since the composition and first performance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s 1725 Ascension Day Cantata Auf Christi Himmelfahrt allein.

This momentous occasion also marks the arrival of the autograph manuscript of the cantata, bequeathed to the Bodleian Library, one of only four of the composer’s manuscripts in the UK.

Join the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the Choir of New College, Oxford for Bach 1725.
7 May at the Sheldonian Theatre:
📖Manuscript viewing: 6.15 – 7.15 pm
🎤Pre-concert talk: 6.30pm (30 minutes)
🎶Concert: 7.30pm (approx. 75 minutes)

Tickets from £15, with discounts for students and U25s, book now: https://oxfordculturalprogramme.org.uk/event/bach-1725/

Part of the Classical Music Concerts series, presented by the Cultural Programme at the University of Oxford and Bodleian Libraries.

Faculty of Music, University of Oxford

04/02/2025

We look forward to The Cultural Programme workshop, 'Radical Curiosity: A conversation about creativity and the arts in dangerous times', in the Holywell Music Room on 11 February. Visiting Fellow, Erika Whyman, will lead the discussion about whether we should take the radical curiosity of artists more seriously? And if so, how can universities and cities help creativity thrive? This afternoon session is designed to be informal, interactive, and engaging, giving everyone the chance to contribute. It is free to attend but booking is required: https://oxfordculturalprogramme.org.uk/event/radical-curiosity/

31/01/2025

On 28 February, join Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective as they bring an intimate concert with the themes of dreams, hope and spirituality to the Sheldonian Theatre, University of Oxford.

Ahead of the intimate concert, meet violinist, Savitri Grier!

Don't miss this chamber concert with a difference. Tickets start from £15 (discounts available for students and U25s): https://oxfordculturalprogramme.org.uk/event/music-and-wellbeing-day-evening-concert/

30/01/2025

Calling everyone interested in creativity; artists, academics, creatives, teachers, community leaders, students and curious minds, this event is for you!

Radical Curiosity - a conversation about creativity and the arts in dangerous times - led by one of our Visiting Fellows, theatre maker and arts leader, Erica Whyman and co-artistic director of theatre company, Improbable, Lee Simpson.

Join us on 1 - 5pm on Tuesday, 11 February, at the Holywell Music Room.

This event is free, but must be booked. Reserve your place now: https://oxfordculturalprogramme.org.uk/event/radical-curiosity/

29/01/2025

Tomorrow evening, 30 January, the Castalian String Quartet will bring an exciting evening of captivating music to the Holywell Music Room.

Read more about what's in store for you on this fantastic evening, and discover the stories behind the music in the latest news item on our website.

Stories behind the music: Castalian String Quartet concert 30 January 2025. Excitement mounts for this event.

24/01/2025

What goes through the minds, hearts and bodies of performing musicians on stage? How can we look after our physical and mental wellbeing in challenging times?

Join members of the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective alongside the University of Oxford Emeritus Professor of Music, Professor Eric Clarke, for a panel discussion at 6pm on Friday, 28 February, at the Sheldonian Theatre, University of Oxford.

Tickets are free, but booking is required. Reserve your place now:

A Music and Wellbeing day with panel discussion and Q&A with members of the Collective and special guests, exploring wellness

24/01/2025

Susanna Centlivre's The Busy Body is coming to Mordan Hall tonight, Friday, 24 January, with a SOLD OUT script-in-hand performance.

The cast has been busy rehearsing this week; take a look at some BTS shots!

More information: https://oxfordculturalprogramme.org.uk/event/the-busy-body/

Creation Theatre Company Orange Tree Theatre St Hugh's College

23/01/2025

Pop-up performance announced!

Head to the Andrew Wiles Building café for 1pm on Tues, 28 January, to enjoy a free taster performance from the Castalian String Quartet.

The Quartet will be playing Beethoven’s string quartet Opus 59 to give you a bit of a sneak peek of their full concert at Holywell Music Room on Thursday, 30 January, and Friday, 9 May. Come along to enjoy the music on the 28th or book your place at one of their upcoming performances: https://oxfordculturalprogramme.org.uk/whats-on/?s=castalian+string+quartet&post_type=event

22/01/2025

This is your last chance to attend Film in Focus: Honouring Jean-Luc Godard, the first in our new series celebrating the power and artistry of cinema.

Grab your tickets to join us tomorrow, Thursday 23 Jan from 6pm at The Ultimate Picture Palace (UPP) for screenings and an exclusive Q&A with Fabrice Aragno:

Join us for a special screening of Godard's three final films, a poignant and significant farewell from one of cinema's greatest innovators.

20/01/2025

You're invited to a special conversation with close collaborator of Jean-Luc Godard, Fabrice Aragno.

This Thursday, 23 January, following the screening of Godard's three final films, Aragno will explore Godard’s unique creative process, the ideas explored in the films, and Aragno’s experience completing them — from detailed instructions left by Godard—after the director’s death. This is a rare opportunity to gain insight into the artistry and genius of one of cinema’s most iconic figures.

Book your place for Film in Focus: Honouring Jean-Luc Godard at The Ultimate Picture Palace (UPP), tickets from £15: https://oxfordculturalprogramme.org.uk/event/film-in-focus-honouring-jean-luc-godard/

19/01/2025

This Thursday, come along to The Ultimate Picture Palace (UPP) for screenings of filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard's final three films:

Trailer of the Film that Will Never Exist: ‘Phony Wars’ (2023, 20 min)
Drôles de Guerres serves as a conceptual “trailer” for an unrealised feature adaptation of Belgian surrealist Charles Plisnier’s 1937 novel Faux Passeports.

Scénarios (2024, 18 min)
An extraordinary epilogue to an uncompromised career, Scénarios assembles and layers paintings, collages, film clips, stills, and narration, including text from Sartre, read on screen—in an overwhelmingly poignant appearance—by Godard the day before his assisted death.

Exposé du Film annonce du film “Scénario” (2024, 34 min)
Conceptualised by Godard and shot by his trusted collaborator Fabrice Aragno, with Exposé du film annonce du film “Scénario” the maestro — cigar in hand — presents a guided tour of a scrapbook-meets-storyboard for a feature left unfinished.

All three films are in French with English subtitles.

Book tickets now: https://oxfordculturalprogramme.org.uk/event/film-in-focus-honouring-jean-luc-godard/

18/01/2025

This coming Friday, 24 January, The Busy Body comes to Mordan Hall, St Hugh's College.

This script-in-hand performance of Susanna Centlivre's clever & hilarious comedy (first performed in 1709) explores how women might find freedom of choice in an age of the marriage contract.

Read more about how Professor David Francis Taylor from St Hugh's College is breathing new life into this forgotten gem of 18th-century theatre: https://oxfordculturalprogramme.org.uk/pioneers-of-the-stage-breathing-new-life-into-18th-century-theatre/

The Busy Body is presented by Creation Theatre Company, Orange Tree Theatre and The Cultural Programme at University of Oxford.

Pioneers of the Stage; Breathing New Life into 18th-century Theatre an event which promises to be fun on a forgotten gem.

18/01/2025

Our special event with The Ultimate Picture Palace (UPP), Film in Focus: Honouring Jean-Luc Godard, takes place next week. Learn more about this renowned filmmaker:

1) Jean-Luc Godard was born on December 3, 1930, in Paris, France.

2) He was a founding figure of the French New Wave (La Nouvelle Vague), a revolutionary film movement in the 1950s and 1960s that challenged traditional cinematic conventions.

3) Before becoming a filmmaker, Godard was a critic for the influential French film magazine Cahiers du Cinéma, where he championed innovative directors such as Alfred Hitchcock and Jean Renoir.

4) Godard was known for his unconventional narrative techniques, such as breaking the "fourth wall" by having characters directly address the audience and his use of non-professional actors.

5) Godard's works have influenced countless filmmakers, including Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, and Sofia Coppola, who have cited him as a major inspiration for their own films.

Experience his work for yourself; join us at the Ultimate Picture Palace on Thurs 23 Jan from 6pm, more info and tickets on our website: https://oxfordculturalprogramme.org.uk/event/film-in-focus-honouring-jean-luc-godard/

17/01/2025

Calling all researchers! Would you like to get involved in shaping and delivering our Cultural Programme Seasons?
Join us at one of two brainstorming sessions next week:

Medieval Afterlives
Tuesday, 21 January, 1- 2pm

Planetary Health
Wednesday, 22 January, 2 – 3pm

Find out more: https://oxfordculturalprogramme.org.uk/jobs/

17/01/2025

On 28 February, join us for a one-hour, open-level, alignment-based yoga flow designed for musicians and performers, hosted by Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective's co-director, yogi, entrepreneur and musician, Elena Urioste.

Find out more about Elena in this introductory video!

Start the day with Elena on 28 February, tickets just £5: https://oxfordculturalprogramme.org.uk/event/music-and-wellbeing-day-early-morning-yoga/

16/01/2025

Coming up very soon: an exciting performance by Castalian String Quartet at the Holywell Music Room.

Join the quartet on 30 January for an extraordinary journey featuring Haydn’s String Quartet in G minor, Op. 20 No. 3, Kurtág’s Six Moments Musicaux, Op 44, Hildegard von Bingen’s Three Antiphons, and Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 9 in C major, Op. 59 No. 3.

Don't miss it. Book tickets now: https://oxfordculturalprogramme.org.uk/event/castalian-string-quartet-3/

07/01/2025

In case you missed it: we're excited to present Film in Focus: Honouring Jean-Luc Godard from 6pm on 23 January.

Join us for a special screening of legendary French-Swiss filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard’s three final films:

🎬Trailer of the Film that Will Never Exist: ‘Phony Wars’ (2023, 20 min)
🎬Scénarios (2024, 18 min)
🎬Exposé du Film annonce du film “Scénario” (2024, 34 min)

After the screenings, stay for an exclusive Q&A with Godard's close collaborator, Fabrice Aragno.

Tickets from £15 - book your place now: https://oxfordculturalprogramme.org.uk/event/film-in-focus-honouring-jean-luc-godard/

Part of the Film in Focus series, presented by the Cultural Programme at University of Oxford in partnership with The Ultimate Picture Palace (UPP) and curated with Dr. C. W. Winterwith Dr C. W. Winter.