The Toonkunst Orchestra Leiden is celebrating its 135th aniversary this year, while the Oxford-Leiden twin city link celebrates its 65th. So it made sense for the two groups to come together and put on a concert in Oxford. This will take place at the Town Hall on Friday, June 24, at 7.30pm.

Founded in 1876, the Toonkunst Orchestra (www.toonkunstorkestleiden.nl) has 55 members and is the oldest symphony orchestra in Leiden. It has a wide classical repertoire, playing the great symphonies from the 19th and 20th centuries as well as experimenting with other compositions. The orchestra performs an average of three concert programmes a year under the skilful baton of Jeppe Moulijn, former assistant conductor of the Netherlands Ballet Orchestra. It also offers young professional musicians a chance to perform as soloists.

The orchestra performs many of its concerts in the Vredeskerk (one of Leiden's churches) and the Stadsgehoorzaal (Leiden's main concert hall). In addition to these traditional venues, it plays in unusual locations — on a floating platform over a Leiden canal (the Rapenburg Festival), in the Leiden Medical Centre for an audience with long-term conditions, a promenade concert in Leiden’s Ancient History Museum, and in the auditorium of a local high school, together with acrobats from the local Youth Circus.

In 2007 and 2009, the orchestra toured Turkey to give peformances with a Turkish choir. In 1998, 2005 and 2009, it performed in the Church of Saint-Merri in Paris. It has also made tours to Switzerland, Germany and Poland. It is visiting Oxford for the first time.

John Chipperfield, chairman of the Oxford-Leiden Link, said: “We are delighted that the orchestra has decided to come to Oxford to celebrate its anniversary as well as our own. We are looking forward to a very pleasant and exciting evening.”

Tickets (£10 or £7.50 concessions) are available from John Chipperfield on 01865 374877 or mjpchipperfield@yahoo.co.uk or from the Oxford Town Hall box office on 01865 252351.