ISIS Chamber Orchestra
 

Past Concerts

We have a searchable archive of our concert performances going back to 1986.

Also, below can be found details of our performances over the last 10 years.

ISIS Chamber Orchestra:
40th Anniversary Celebration!

fireworks with Sasha Canter

Background image adapted from one by Nick from Pixabay


Date: 7.30pm on Saturday 14th October 2023
Venue: St Andrew's Church, Linton Rd, Oxford
Conductors: Paul Cox & Caroline Hobbs-Smith
Trumpet: Sasha Canter

Music:

Dvorak - Czech Suite
Hummel - Trumpet Concerto
Ibert - Hommage to Mozart
Beethoven - Symphony No.8


ISIS Chamber Orchestra

poster graphic

Image with credits to jorono & Michael Sauter from Pixabay


Date: 7.30pm on Saturday 11th February 2023
Venue: St Andrews Church, Summertown
Conductor: Caroline Hobbs Smith
Violin & 'Cello: Rachel & Tabitha Appel
Music:

Beethoven - Egmont Overture
Brahms - Double Concerto for Violin & 'Cello
Mendelssohn - Symphony No.3 "Scottish"

ISIS Chamber Orchestra

poster graphic

Image by SeaReeds from Pixabay


Date: 7.30pm on Saturday 15th October, 2022
Venue: St Michael and All Angels Church, Summertown
Conductor: Neil Farrow
Piano: Dominic Piers-Smith
Music:

Rameau - Overture to Les Boréades
Schumann - Piano Concerto in A minor
Beethoven - Symphony No.7


ISIS Chamber Orchestra

poster graphic Date: 7.30pm on Saturday 14th May, 2022
Venue: All Saints Church, Marcham (near Abingdon)
Conductor: Caroline Hobbs-Smith
Music:

Faure - Masques et Bergamasques
Benjamin Britten - A time there was... (Suite on English Folk Tunes for Orchestra)
Debussy - Claire de Lune
Ravel - Mother Goose Suite
Faure - Pavane
Debussy - Petite Suite

This was a charity fund-raising concert in support of Medecins Sans Frontieres.

Opera Anywhere, with the ISIS Chamber Orchestra
Hansel and Gretel

Date: Saturday 30th November 2019, 6pm
Venue: Rendall Hall, Rye St Antony school, Headington
Conductor: Chris Gill
Requiem for All Souls Day

Date: Saturday 2nd November 2019, 6.30pm
Venue: Greyfriars Church, Iffley Rd, Oxford
Musical Director: Chris Gill

Fauré - Requiem

This is part of a requiem for All Souls Day, featuring the Byrd chorus, and singers from Greyfriars church.


ISIS Chamber Orchestra and Summertown Choral Society

Date: Saturday 15th June 2019, 7.30pm
Musical Director: Duncan Saunderson

Music to include:

Schubert - Mass in Eb


ISIS Chamber Orchestra - Bach and Sons

Date: Saturday 18th May 2019, 7.30pm
Venue: All Saints Church, Marcham
Conductor: Paul Cox
Baritone: Christian Bradley
'Cello: Laurens Price-Novak

Music:

JS Bach - Cantata 'Ich Habe Genug'
CPE Bach - Symphony in E flat
CPE Bach - 'Cello Concerto in A major
JC Bach - Symphony Op. 6 No. 6 in G minor



This was a charity fund-raising concert in aid of Hanna's Orphanage.
Some short clips from the concert:




ISIS Chamber Orchestra

Date: Saturday 2nd February 2019, 7.30pm
Venue: St Andrew's Church, Linton Rd, Summertown
Conductor: Caroline Hobbs-Smith
Piano: Julian Hellaby

Music:

Mendelssohn - Hebrides Overture
Beethoven - Piano Concerto no. 4
Nino Rota - Balli
Saint-Saens - Symphony no. 2



Opera Anywhere, with the ISIS Chamber Orchestra
Amahl and the Night Visitors The Night Visitors

Date: Saturday 1st December 2018, 6pm
Venue: Rendall Hall, Rye St Antony school, Headington
Conductor: Chris Gill


Review, from Daily Information


ISIS Chamber Orchestra

Date: Saturday 10th November, 2018
Venue: St Andrew's Church, Summertown
Conductor: Paul Cox
Horn: David Garbutt

Music:

Britten - Sinfonietta
Mozart - Horn Concerto No. 2
Brahms - Serenade No. 2
Strauss - Overture and dance from Ariadne auf Naxos


ISIS Chamber Orchestra

Date: Saturday 15th September 2018
Venue: Denham College, Marcham (near Abingdon)

Music:

Handel - Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
Bach - Suite No. 2 (Flute: Lorraine Jarvis)
Boyce - Symphony No. 4
Warlock - Capriol Suite


Heritage Opera, with the ISIS Chamber Orchestra
Così Fan Tutte

Date: Saturday 30th June 2017, 7.30pm
Venue: Rendall Hall, Rye St Antony school, Headington
Conductor: Chris Gill


flute ISIS Chamber Orchestra


Date: Saturday 10th February 2018 at 7.30pm
Venue: St Andrew's Church, Linton Road, Oxford
Conductor: Caroline Hobbs-Smith
Flute: Claire Edmiston
Music:

Rossini - Overture to The Barber of Seville
Nielsen - Flute Concerto
Schubert - Entr'actes to Rosamunde
Schubert - Symphony No.8 (Unfinished)

water lily ISIS Chamber Orchestra,
with the East Oxford Community Choir

Date: Sunday 15th October 2017 at 5pm
Venue: St John the Evangelist Church, Oxford
Conductor: Paul Cox
Viola: Diana Mathews
Music:

Gabriel Fauré - Incidental music to Pelléas et Mélissande
Jean Françaix - Rhapsodie for viola and orchestra
John Rutter - Fancies for choir and orchestra
Maurice Ravel - Le Tombeau de Couperin
Ralph Vaughan Williams - Flos Campi for solo viola, choir and orchestra

Heritage Opera, with the ISIS Chamber Orchestra
The Magic Flute

Dates: Saturday 1st July 2017, 7.30pm
Venue: Rendall Hall, Rye St Antony school, Headington
Conductor: Chris Gill


ISIS Chamber Orchestra

Date: Saturday 13th May 2017, 7.30pm
Venue: All Saints Church, Marcham (near Abingdon)
Conductor: Chris Gill
Flute: Rachel Wright
Clarinet: Ruth Foxman

Music:

Vaughan Williams - Two Hymn Tune Preludes (Dominus regit me, Eventide) for small orchestra
Danzi - Sinfonia Concertante for flute, clarinet and orchestra
Grieg - Holberg Suite
Haydn - Symphony no. 80


Poster

This was a charity fund-raising concert in aid of the Marcham Community Group.

ISIS Chamber Orchestra
Date: Saturday 11th February 2017, 7.30pm
Venue: St Michael and All Angels Church, Londsdale Rd, Summertown

Conductor: Paul Cox
Violin: Jake Rea
Music:

Gluck - Overture Iphigénie en Aulide
Mendelssohn - Violin Concerto
Beethoven - Romance No. 2 for Violin and Orchestra
Beethoven - Symphony No.8

This concert was a charity fund-raising concert in aid of Water Aid.

Alex, playing the 'cello It was also dedicated to Alex Harper, who died suddenly on Thursday 3rd November 2016. Alex was not only a stalwart of the 'cello section, but also secretary of the Isis Chamber Orchestra for many years, and an encyclopaedic source of information on all things musical, very helpful when it came to selecting programmes for our concerts. In recent years he also successfully conducted two of our concerts: in May 2016, and in May 2014, the latter of which included Haydn's Symphony No. 45, The Farewell. We will miss you enormously, Alex.

Mozart ISIS Chamber Orchestra,
with the East Oxford Community Choir

Dates & Venues:
Saturday 15th October 2016 at 7.30pm, at St Michael and All Angels Church, Lonsdale Rd, Summertown
Sunday 16th October 2016 at 4pm, at St John the Evangelist Church, Oxford

Conductor: Paul Cox
Music:

Mozart - Magic Flute overture
Mozart - Symphony No. 31
Mozart - C minor mass K427

This concert was a charity fund-raising concert in aid of UNICEF.

Heritage Opera, with the ISIS Chamber Orchestra
Don Giovanni

Date: Saturday 25th June, 2016, 7.30pm
Venue: Rye St Antony school, Headington
Conductor: Chris Gill

Review of the performance from BehindTheArras.com

ISIS Chamber Orchestra

Date: Saturday 14th May, 2016, 7.30pm
Venue: All Saints Church, Marcham (near Abingdon)
Conductor: Alex Harper
Music:

Handel - Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
Handel - Concerto grosso, Op. 3, No. 5
Boyce - Symphony No. 8
Handel - Concerto grosso, Op. 3, No. 4
Respighi - Ancient Airs and Dances Suite No. 3
Rameau - Suite from Les Indes Galantes

This concert was in aid of the Marcham Community Group, which helps to provide facilities for the community.

ISIS Chamber Orchestra

Simon Watterton Date: Saturday 30th January, 2016
Venue:St Helen's Church, Abingdon
Conductor: Paul Cox
Piano: Simon Watterton
Music:

Mendelssohn - Overture Die Schöne Melusine
Mozart - Piano Concerto no. 25 in C, K.503
Finzi - Eclogue for piano and strings
Beethoven - Symphony No. 1


ISIS Chamber Orchestra

[violoncello] Date: Saturday 17th October, 2015
Venue: Church of St Michael and All Angels, Summertown
Conductor: Paul Cox
'Cello: Jacqui Johnson
Music:

Smetana - Overture The Bartered Bride
Finzi - 'Cello Concerto
Dvorak - Symphony No. 8

This was a charity fund-raising concert in aid of Rosie's Rainbow Fund.

ISIS Chamber Orchestra

[headshots of the four composers] Date: Saturday 16th May, 2015
Venue: All Saints Church, Marcham (near Abingdon)
Conductor: Caroline Hobbs-Smith
Clarinet: Ruth Foxman
Music:

Copland - Quiet City
Weber - Clarinet Concerto No.2
Ireland - Suite for Strings
Haydn - Symphony No. 93

This was a charity fund-raising concert in aid of the Moldova Lifeline Project.

ISIS Chamber Orchestra Diana Mathews
Date: Saturday 7th February 2015, 7.30pm
Venue: St Helen's Church, Abingdon
Conductor: Paul Cox
Viola: Diana Mathews
Music:

Butterworth - Banks of Green Willow
Vaughan Williams - Suite for Viola
Weber - Andante and Rondo Ungarese
Schubert - Symphony No.6


Poster

Proceeds from this concert went to the Rotary Club of Abingdon's Youth Projects


ISIS Chamber Orchestra ISIS poster
Date: Saturday 11th October 2014, 7.30pm
Venue: St Michael and All Angels Church, Londsdale Rd, Summertown
Prices: £10 (£8 and £4 concessions)
Tickets: available from the Book House, Summertown, or on the door

Conductor: Paul Cox
Violin: Jake Rea
Music:

Beethoven - Leonora Overture No. 1
Dvorak - Violin Concerto
Beethoven - Symphony No.2

This was a charity fund-raising concert in aid of the Cutteslowe Community Association.