Jesus College Visiting Artist Series

This exciting venture, now in its fourth season, is a partnership between Jesus College (supported by the Kohn Foundation) and Oxford Lieder. The 2009/ 10 season has so far seen generous support of Malcolm Martineau’s appearance as guest tutor at the 2009 Oxford Lieder Festival, and a wonderful recital in February this year given by Sophie Daneman and Simon Mulligan.

On 25th and 26th June, the first Jesus College Music Weekend will take place in the Holywell Music Room. On Friday 25th (8pm), the legendary Russian baritone Sergei Leiferkus will give an all-Russian recital with pianist Semion Skigin (click here for details). On Saturday 26th at 2pm there will be a public master class working with Music Students from Oxford University, and at 8pm one of the UK’s most exciting emerging ensembles, the Barbirolli Quartet, will be joined by tenor Daniel Norman and pianist Sholto Kynoch in a programme of Haydn and Vaughan-Williams (On Wenlock Edge), concluding with Brahms’ mighty F minor piano quintet.

The first Jesus College Visiting Artist Series began in October 2006, and in the first three seasons there was one Visiting Artist, an accompanist, each season, giving three recitals and masterclasses. Graham Johnson was the inaugural Visiting Artist and gave the first recital as part of the 2006 Oxford Lieder Festival with Daniela Lehner (mezzo-soprano) and Jared Holt (baritone). He returned in January 2007 with soprano Geraldine McGreevy and was joined at the third concert, in June, by Ann Murray DBE.

Malcolm Martineau was the Visiting Artist for the 2007/8 season. The first of his concerts took place in November 2007, with the outstanding and ever-popular soprano Amanda Roocroft. Baritone Christopher Maltman made a return visit to Oxford Lieder on 18th January 2008 for a memorable evening of Britten, Poulenc and Shostakovich, and Ann Murray DBE gave a rousing recital to great acclaim to bring the series to a close in the Holywell Music Room in February 2008.

Roger Vignoles was the Jesus College Visiting Artist for the 2008/9 season. Sir Thomas Allen, Oxford Lieder's Patron, gave a recital of French song with Roger Vignoles in the University Church on Friday 17th October, with tenor Mark Padmore joining Roger on Friday 7th November, once again in the atmospheric surroundings of the University Church. The third concert was given with mezzo Anna Grevelius in May 2009.