MidAmerica Productions presents the Oxford Philharmonic in Carnegie Hall Debut with GRAMMY Violinist Maxim Vengerov

by Matt Herman*

Music Director and Founder Marios Papadopoulos conducts the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra – praised as ‘excellent’ by Gramophone magazine and ‘thoroughly impressive’ by BBC Music Magazine – in their Carnegie Hall Debut on Tuesday, June 7 at 7:30 PM in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage. MidAmerica Productions Founder and General Music Director Peter Tiboris proudly presents the inaugural U.S. appearance of the orchestra, which features GRAMMY Award-winning violinist Maxim Vengerov in a program of Sarasate’s Navarra, Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1, and Brahms’s Symphony No. 1.

Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra Music Director and Founder Marios Papadopoulos with GRAMMY Award-winning violinist Maxim Vengerov

World-renowned violinist Maxim Vengerov’s performance with the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra follows an extensive collaborative relationship with the Orchestra dating back to 2013. Over an unprecedented four-season collaboration, Vengerov performed with the Orchestra across the U.K. and together they recorded the violin concerti of Brahms and Sibelius as well as Mendelssohn’s Octet.

The Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra prides itself on making exceptional and unique musical experiences, bringing new and engaging interpretations to well-loved works in the classical repertoire. An ensemble from the Juilliard pre-college division, led by Vengerov, joins the Orchestra for Sarasate’s Navarra.

Tickets, ranging from $20 to $175, are available beginning today at 11 AM, and may be obtained by contacting CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800, visiting the Carnegie Hall Box Office at 57th Street and 7th Avenue in New York City, or going online to carnegiehall.org. For more information, contact Molly Waymire at 917-513-3080 or molly.waymire@piptix.com. For the most up-to-date COVID protocol, including vaccination requirements, visit carnegiehall.org.

Established in 1998, the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra is dedicated to the highest standards of artistic excellence and musical integrity, and strives to create bold musical statements with every concert it presents. Its continual search for excellence is underpinned by the uncompromising standards of its Founder and Music Director Marios Papadopoulos and maintained by some of the finest musicians in the UK. It attracts some of the world’s greatest artists to appear in concert, including Maxim Vengerov, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Martha Argerich, Sir András Schiff, Renée Fleming, Lang Lang, Nicola Benedetti and Vladimir Ashkenazy.

In addition to its annual concert season in Oxford, touring performances across the UK, family concerts, annual Oxford Piano Festival, and Chamber Music Series, the Orchestra is proud to present a growing list of international engagements including its debut at the Tivoli Festival in Copenhagen in June 2019.

The Oxford Philharmonic was appointed the inaugural Orchestra in Residence at the University of Oxford in 2002, the first relationship of its kind between an orchestra and higher education institution.

World-renowned violinist Maxim Vengerov became the Oxford Philharmonic’s first ever Artist in Residence following his remarkable debut with the Orchestra in 2013. Over an unprecedented four-season collaboration, Vengerov performed with the Orchestra across the UK, recorded the violin concertos of Brahms and Sibelius as well as Mendelssohn’s Octet. In July 2018 Vengerov appeared at Cheltenham Music Festival and Saffron Hall with the Soloists of the Oxford Philharmonic – a tight-knit group of musicians described by The Times as ‘glorious individual players’ and by Jessica Duchen as ‘a line-up to match any top-notch international chamber ensemble and probably beat them on their own turf’.

The Philharmonic celebrated its 20th anniversary in the 2018/19 season with a gala concert at the Barbican Centre in London, featuring a star-studded line-up including long-term collaborators Maxim Vengerov, Anne-Sophie Mutter and Martha Argerich.

It has also appeared on several recordings including works by Nimrod Borenstein for Chandos, cello concertos by Shostakovich and Mats Lidström (Solo Cello of the Oxford Philharmonic), both conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy, on BIS Records, A Merton Christmas with Merton College Choir, Haydn’s The Creation with the Choir of New College, and the Handel/Mendelssohn Acis and Galatea with Christ Church Cathedral Choir. The Orchestra’s most recent disc The Enlightened Trumpet with soloist Paul Merkelo was released on Sony Classical in September 2019.

A partnership with J & A Beare provides the Orchestra’s distinguished members with opportunities to play on Stradivari instruments, adding a new dimension to the sound of the Orchestra.

The Orchestra and its Music Director were awarded the City of Oxford’s Certificate of Honour in 2013, in recognition of their contribution to education and performance in Oxford.

This story was first published in musicalamerica.com