Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Acland Burghley School, 93 Burghley Road, London (2026)

25/06/2026

🎶 We’re Hiring for an Education Officer 🎶
This is a brilliant opportunity to join the Education Department of one of the world’s most distinctive orchestras.

As our Education Officer, you’ll be at the heart of delivering the OAE’s award‑winning education work. You’ll support the Education Director day‑to‑day, help shape projects at Acland Burghley School where we are resident, and bring workshops and performances to life by coordinating musicians, managing logistics, and being hands‑on at events.

If you’re passionate about music education, love working with people of all ages and backgrounds, and want to help us champion curiosity, creativity, and accessibility, we’d love to hear from you.

🗓 Deadline: 17:00 on Thursday 2 July 2026
🗓 Interviews: Week commencing 6 July 2026
Find out more at https://oae.co.uk/jobs/education-officer/

24/06/2026

Adrian Bending, (Principal Timpani), Daniel Bates (Principal Oboe), Martin Lawrence (Horn) explain the challenges involved in playing a program of music over 100 years apart.

We are recreating a concert first performed in Vienna in 1897 by the Vienna Philharmonic with a repertoire including Brahms’ Symphony No.4, Dvořák’s Cello Concerto and Haydn’s Symphony No. 73.

18/06/2026

What does football have to do with conducting a baroque orchestra?

Quite a lot, according to conductor and keyboardist Ottavio Dantone.

Before dedicating himself to music, he was on track for a professional football career. And his knack for timing headers—waiting for exactly the right moment to leap and strike—became a skill he carried into music.

“Choosing the right timing to jump, to wait an instant for the ball and to hit it at the perfect moment has helped me a lot in my music career.”

⚽🎶 Timing is everything.

18/06/2026

Longstanding OAE viola player Martin Kelly joins Netty in the latest episode of our podcast!

In his final year with the OAE, Martin looks back on his first encounter with Netty 53 years ago, joining the orchestra and overcoming the many trials and tribulations of life as a musician. He also shares unforgettable stories from amusing pranks to cherished memories on and off stage.

Tune in at oae.co.uk/tea-with-netty or link in bio 🎧☝🏻

17/06/2026

“It was a great honour to receive the on Monday for BEST MODERN CHOREOGRAPHY for Breaking Bach.
I want to thank the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the Edinburgh International Festival who commissioned the piece and made this wonderful journey possible.
And a huge thank you to the most delightful and inspirational group of dancers - to my three associates Tommy , Deavion and Seirian - - and to Nafisah , Aurora , Elyse , Robbie , Abe , Justin .howell, Oscar , Jack , Jeriah , Manny - it was a joy working with you all !” - Kim Brandstrup

Breaking Bach reimagines the dance rhythms hidden deep in Bach’s music. The project brings together internationally acclaimed choreographer Kim Brandstrup, the OAE’s musicians, and a group of talented young street dancers. The idea grew from the OAE’s residency at Acland Burghley School , where one of the first groups we encountered was the vibrant community of young dancers eager to challenge themselves.

The full-length programme was premiered at the 2025 Edinburgh International Festival where it was described by The Observer’s Dance critic Sarah Crompton as “a glorious, life-enhancing work”. Further London, UK and international performances are slated for Spring 2027 - watch this space!

Thank you and the Critics Circle.

15/06/2026

Meet the lirone – an extraordinary instrument nicknamed “heaven’s hoover”. Emilia Benjamin reveals how this rarely seen 16th century instrument creates the celestial sound world of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo in our Glyndebourne performances this summer.

12/06/2026

Two Berlioz symphonies and two fantastic evenings with Sir Simon Rattle and Timothy Ridout 🤩 were you there? Let us know your favourite moments👇

📸 1-5 Luke O’Shea Phillips

09/06/2026

“It’s a kind of homecoming for the viola.”

Violist Timothy Ridout joins the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Sir Simon Rattle for Berlioz’s Harold in Italy — performing for the first time on a full set of gut strings.

Playing a remarkable viola built by Peregrino di Zanetto around 1565–1575, Timothy reflects on returning the instrument to the sound world it would have known for the first three centuries of its life, and on the raw colours and expressive possibilities that gut strings bring to Berlioz’s music.

Hear the OAE perform Berlioz’s Harold in Italy and Symphonie Fantastique with Sir Simon Rattle on 10 June at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall: https://oae.co.uk/event/symphonie-fantastique/ or link in bio.

09/06/2026

Hear us play Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique with Sir Simon Rattle on 10 June at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall: https://oae.co.uk/event/symphonie-fantastique/ or go to link in bio.

Berlioz once described the bassoon’s tenor register as “painful and miserable.”

Bassoonist Chris Rawley shows us the 1830s bassoon he’s playing in Symphonie fantastique—an instrument Berlioz would likely have known.

09/06/2026

Hear us play Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique with Sir Simon Rattle on 10 June at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall: https://oae.co.uk/event/symphonie-fantastique/ or go to link in bio.

Berlioz wanted a different sound from his timpani. His solution? Sea sponges. 🌊🥁

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

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