Friday 10th November 2023, 7.30pm

St. Michael & All Angels, Pond Road, Blackheath SE3 9JL

THE OAE EXPERIENCE SCHEME

The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE) runs an annual scheme for exceptional young players to work alongside players from the OAE in courses, masterclasses, education projects and chamber concerts. Haydn’s symphonies are the backbone of the Experience projects.  In workshops and rehearsals, students explore Haydn’s musical language and performance practice. They also discuss the intensity social aspects of the writing and the effects of this on their music-making. The aim is to treat symphonies as enlarged chamber music with the whole group influencing and leading aspects of the rehearsals and performance.

ORCHESTRA OF THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT

In 1986, a group of inquisitive London musicians took a long hard look at that curious institution we call the Orchestra, and decided to start again from scratch. They began by throwing out the rulebook. Put a single conductor in charge? No way. Specialise in repertoire of a particular era? Too restricting. Perfect a work and then move on? Too lazy. The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment was born.

Since then, the OAE has shocked, changed and mesmerised the music world. Residencies at Acland Burghley School, the Southbank Centre and Glyndebourne haven’t numbed its experimentalist bent. Record deals haven’t ironed out its quirks. Period-specific instruments have become just one element of its quest for authenticity.

Today the OAE is cherished more than ever. It still pushes for change, and still stands for excellence, diversity and exploration. More than thirty years on, there’s still no orchestra in the world quite like it.