We regret that due to the coronavirus situation, this concert has been cancelled. We hope to reschedule this wonderful programme at a later date.
Saturday 9 May 2020 – 7.30pm
St John the Evangelist Church, 109A Iffley Road, Oxford, OX4 1EH
LET US GARLANDS BRING

Courtesy of Benjamin Ealovega
Gerald Finzi, Let us garlands bring
Roderick Williams, Corona [World Première]
Dag Wirén, Serenade
John Ireland, Concertino Pastorale
Corona Strings with internationally acclaimed baritone Roderick Williams, bring you a concert on the theme of love and loss. The highlight of the evening will be a newly commissioned work composed and performed by Roderick Williams as soloist, and the evening culminates in the title work, Gerald Finzi’s exquisite song cycle Let us garlands bring in the version for baritone and string orchestra.
The programme also features Dag Wirén’s joyous Serenade to contrast with the profoundly moving Concertino Pastorale by John Ireland.
Roderick Williams, Baritone
Corona Strings (Leader, Catherine Leech)
Janet Lincé, Conductor
TICKETS
Tickets: £25 (£21), £18 (£14) unreserved
or on the door from 7.00pm
Saturday 29 Feb 2020 – 7.30pm
Dorchester Abbey, High Street, Dorchester on Thames OX10 7HH
HEARTSTRINGS
A feast of romantic works for string orchestra and guitar.
Come to lovely Dorchester Abbey for another Corona Strings special – a concert of romantic music for Valentines! Top of the bill is Tchaikovsky’s magnificent Serenade for Strings along with stunning works by Nordic composers Sibelius and Nielsen. Also featured in this concert is the delightful concerto for Guitar and Strings by Vincent Lindsey-Clark for which the orchestra is joined by the stunning guitarist, Raymond Burley.
Tchaikovsky, Serenade in C
Sibelius, Romance
Lindsey-Clark, Guitar Concerto
Nielsen, Little Suite Op.1
Finzi, Romance
Corona Strings
Leader, Catherine Leech
Guitar, Raymond Burley
Janet Lincé, Conductor
TICKETS (also available on the door)
Tickets: £20 (£15 concessions); £5 full-time students and under 18s
Saturday 5 Oct 2019 – 7.30pm
Reading Town Hall, RG1 1QH
VERDI REQUIEM
Passionate, complex and profoundly moving, Verdi’s setting of the Requiem Mass is one of the most compelling pieces in the choral repertoire. Those who love the operas of Verdi will find much to relish with this work, which will be staged without an interval and last approximately 90 minutes.
Erica Eloff, Soprano
Yvonne Howard, Mezzo-Soprano
Joshua Owen Mills, Tenor
Ben Davies, Bass-Baritone
Corona Orchestra (Leader, Catherine Leech)
Oxford Chorus
Janet Lincé, Conductor
TICKETS
Tickets: £32, £24(£20), £19(£15), £14(£10)
Box Office: www.readingarts.com | 0118 960 6060
Website: www.verdirequiemreading.com
Saturday 18 May 2019 – 7.30pm
St John the Evangelist Church, 109A Iffley Road, Oxford, OX4 1EH
BRILLIANT BYWAYS
Corona Strings offer yet another brilliant programme of masterworks for string orchestra. Britten’s fantastic Variations on a theme of Frank Bridge are hard to beat for sheer invention and excitement whilst the sumptuous melody and warm atmosphere of Vaughan Williams’s Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus will delight all our listeners. Those who prefer the Romantic sound will love Arensky’s vibrant Variations on a theme of Tchaikovsky and the evening ends with Holst’s joyous St Paul’s Suite.
Leader: Catherine Leech
Conductor: Janet Lincé
TICKETS
Saturday 2 March 2019 – 7.30pm
Dorchester Abbey, High Street, Wallingford, OX10 7HH
BEST OF BRITAIN
Two great classics, Ralph Vaughan Williams’s inspired Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis along with Edward Elgar’s magnificent Introduction and Allegro and Elegy, form the backbone of this programme of British works for string orchestra. Gerald Finzi’s beautiful Eclogue features solo pianist Anita d’Attellis and we give a repeat performance of the gorgeous but neglected Sea Sketches by Welsh composer Grace Williams. The programme is completed with Peter Warlock’s own arrangement of his highly popular Capriol Suite of 1928.
Leader: Catherine Leech
Piano: Anita d’Attellis
Conductor: Janet Lincé
TICKETS
£20 (£15 concessions); £5 full-time students and under 18s
ticketsoxford.com | info@coronastrings.co.uk
Saturday 19 May 2018 – 7.30pm
St John the Evangelist Church, 109A Iffley Road, Oxford, OX4 1EH
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODIES
Dvořák, Serenade for Strings in E Major, Opus 22
Dvořák, Notturno
Mahler, Adagietto
Suk, Meditation
Janáček, Suite for Strings
Corona Strings presents a gorgeous programme of string works inspired by Bohemia and the romantic city of Prague. The tuneful Suite by Janáček is a joyful rarity alongside Suk’s yearning Meditation and Mahler’s profoundly beautiful Adagietto. Dvořák’s deservedly famous Serenade is complemented by his very atmospheric Notturno. The programme continues with less well-known, but equally engaging music by some of Dvořák’s countrymen; the joyful Suite for Strings by Janáček and the yearning Meditation by a superb composer of string music – Josef Suk. To complete the programme the orchestra is joined by solo harp to perform Mahler’s profoundly beautiful Adagietto from his 5th Symphony.
Corona Strings (Leader: Catherine Leech)
Conductor: Janet Lincé
TICKETS
Tickets £20 (£17); £15 (£12); £5 full-time students & under 18s
Available from: Tickets Oxford
Saturday 24 March 2018 – 7.30pm
St John the Evangelist Church, 109A Iffley Road, Oxford, OX4 1EH
BACH: ST JOHN PASSION
The acclaimed chamber choir Choros joins Corona Baroque for this period instrument performance in German of Johann Sebastian Bach’s moving and dramatic account of the Passion of Christ according to St John. With a brilliant line-up of soloists, this is sure to be the highlight of the season for Bach enthusiasts.
Soprano, Julie Cooper
Alto, William Purefoy
Tenor, Jeremy Budd
Bass, Ben Davies
Evangelist, Rob Waters
Christus, tbc
Corona Baroque Ensemble (Leader: Miranda Walton)
Choros
Conductor: Janet Lincé
TICKETS
Tickets: £25 (£19 Centre Nave); £17 (£13) Side Aisles; (£5 full-time students & under 18s)
Available from: https://www.sje-oxford.org/event/bach-st-john-passion