England’s City of Oxford Orchestra Gives Final Concert 

Having given its final performance, the orchestra is closing down after 60 years 

Founded in 1965, The City of Oxford Orchestra recently performed its final concert at the Sheldonian Theatre with Glinka’s Ruslan and Ludmilla, Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5. 

The orchestra, which was the oldest professional orchestra in Oxford, England, cited small audience numbers and having to compete with other orchestras in the region as the primary reason for shutting down operations. 

“We had a very, very small audience at [our previous] concert,” orchestra director Lindsay Sandison said in the Oxford Mail.

“There has been a terrible decline in audiences. Music isn’t the same without a good audience. We had an audience of 32 people at our last concert,” she added. 

“There’s nothing more depressing for the orchestra to have a smaller audience than the orchestra. A lot of the music in Oxford is free,” she continued. “I feel privileged to have been able to look after this orchestra. There are so many orchestras in Oxford now. We can’t compete with the free concerts which are put on … 30 years I’ve spent with this orchestra. It has been an incredible experience.” 

Sandison also explained that the annual Christmas Concerto by Candlelight concerts at Exeter College Chapel will run as normal, and that a special event will be held in 2026 to mark 30 years since acclaimed pianist Tom Poster first performed with the orchestra.

“The City of Oxford Orchestra was founded … with a firm commitment to provide live, classical music of the highest quality to the widest possible audience,” reads the orchestra’s website. “The orchestra has played to acclaim in most of the capital cities of Europe whilst also providing all-year-round concerts in Oxford's beautiful, historical buildings, in particular, Sir Christopher Wren's stunning Sheldonian Theatre.”