Laura Ashby tells Nicola Lisle about Music at Oxford’s season

There’s a new hand on the tiller at Music at Oxford. Former chief executive Simon Courtenay-Taylor retired in May, after seven years at the helm, and the organisation is now in the capable hands of general manager Laura Ashby, who came to MAO from the Oxford Lieder Festival at the beginning of the year.

Meeting up with her at MAO’s lovely waterside office, I find her bubbling with enthusiasm as the new season approaches.

“This is my first season with Music at Oxford, so I’m really excited about getting going with it in October,” she says. “I worked for the Lieder Festival for years and enormously enjoyed it, but this opportunity came up and it felt like a really interesting move. Obviously having a hand in the artistic side of things is very nice. I work very closely with Alison [Giles], who does the artistic planning, and we’re trying to think of ways to introduce more talks into the programme, so that’s exciting too.”

In a neat twist, MAO’s opening concert is also the opening concert of the Lieder Festival, which this year is focusing entirely on Schubert.

A stellar line-up of soloists — including mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly and other favourites such as John Mark Ainsley, James Gilchrist, Daniel Norman and Christopher Maltman — come together for an evening of familiar and not-so-familiar songs by the master of lieder, with piano accompaniment by festival founder Sholto Kynoch.

It sets the bar for a season that is positively brimming with musical treats. Piano enthusiasts will be delighted at the return of Joanna McGregor, who is a familiar face in Oxford but has never played for MAO before.

“Her programme is an interesting one,” says Laura. “It’s about her musical influences, so it goes from Bach to jazz, with all sorts of other things in between. So that’s a really interesting mix, and of course she’s a very dynamic performer.”

Another concert that Laura is particularly excited about is the all-Mozart programme by the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, which makes its Oxford debut in November.

“It’s a real coup for us to have them,” she says. “They rarely play the UK, and they’re only doing three dates when they come over in November, so that’s exciting for us to have them in the first part of our season.”

Other big names making an appearance include popular Welsh countertenor Iestyn Davies, who will join baroque ensemble Arcangelo for an evening of Bach and Telemann in May, the award-winning Brodsky Quartet, and cellist Natalie Clein, who play the complete Bach cello suites over two concerts. There are plenty of local names involved, too, including the Oxford Bach Choir, the Choir of Merton College, Oxfordshire-based international guitarist Craig Ogden, and the Christ Church Cathedral Choir with their traditional Christmas celebration.

The closing concert of the season is also a farewell. Conductor Andris Nelsons will be making his final appearance in Oxford with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra before taking up a new post as music director of Boston Symphony Orchestra.

“It seems to be a very coherent season,” Laura says. “I know it’s a cliché now, but there really is something for everyone, and we’re really pleased that everything seems to be interesting our audience — tickets are selling very nicely.”

International Concert Series 
Various venues
October 10 until June 12
For more information and bookings, call 01865 244806 or visit musicatoxford.com