Events at Dorchester Abbey

For generations people have brought their gifts and skills to enhance the life of Dorchester Abbey and this tradition continues as a huge variety of groups and organisations hire and use the Abbey each year as the venue for a wide and vibrant programme of concerts, theatre, visual arts and other events.

If you would like to hire the Abbey for your event then take a look at our information for hirers.

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May
3
Tue
Dorchester Festival
May 3 2022 – May 12 2024 all-day
Dorchester Festival @ Dorchester Abbey

Dorchester Festival is an amazing 64 events raising money for Dorchester Abbey and, in 2024, Restore, a local mental health charity. Come and see The Tallis Scholars, sing with John Rutter, folk with Sam Kelly, dance to Jazz, race ducks, find scarecrows, laugh with Marcel Lucont, cook and do historical trails and much much more!

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Mar
30
Sat
Bach – St Matthew Passion
Mar 30 @ 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Bach - St Matthew Passion @ Dorchester Abbey

A highlight of our musical year, we celebrate Easter with our annual performances of JS Bach’s sacred oratorio. Featuring some of Bach’s most delicate chorales and rousing choruses, this depiction of the last few days of Jesus’s life is as powerful today as it was when it was written nearly 300 years ago.

BACH

St Matthew Passion

Evangelist Robert Jenkins
Christus George Robarts
Pilate Frazer Scott
Soprano Hannah Davey
Alto Charlotte Tetley
Tenor Xavier Hetherington
Bass (Arias) David Pike

OSJ Oxford Voices
Oxford Youth Choir
Orchestra of St John’s

Free tickets available for NHS workers and for the disabled. Please email admin@osj.org.uk.

When you purchase tickets, we politely ask that you consider adding a voluntary donation to support our work in the community and with children in Special Educational Needs schools.

PLEASE PARK RESPONSIBLY IN DORCHESTER VILLAGE. DO NOT BLOCK DRIVEWAY ACCESS NEAR TO THE ABBEY. Parking areas for events are signposted: either the Recreation Ground at the Oxford end, or in the field over the bridge.

£35, £30, £20, £6

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Apr
13
Sat
OSJ: Gershwin and Tchaikovsky
Apr 13 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
OSJ: Gershwin and Tchaikovsky @ Dorchester Abbey

We guarantee a lot of fun at this evening’s concert! Japanese pianist Maki Sekiya brings Gershwin’s fabulous Rhapsody in Blue to life. She is joined by soprano Danielle Maihalet and bass Chuma Sijeqa who will perform much-loved excerpts from Porgy and Bess. The evening is rounded off with Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, this most dramatic of works representing fate and the search for happiness.

 

Maki Sekiya piano
Julienne Danielle Mahailet soprano
Chuma Sijeqa bass

Orchestra of St John’s

Free tickets available for NHS workers and for the disabled. Please email admin@osj.org.uk.

When you purchase tickets, we politely ask that you consider adding a voluntary donation to support our work in the community and with children in Special Educational Needs schools.

PLEASE PARK RESPONSIBLY IN DORCHESTER VILLAGE. DO NOT BLOCK DRIVEWAY ACCESS NEAR TO THE ABBEY. Parking areas for events are signposted: either the Recreation Ground at the Oxford end, or in the field over the bridge.

£32, £27, £16, £6

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Apr
20
Sat
Passing Open Windows: A Symphonic Tribute to Queen
Apr 20 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Passing Open Windows: A Symphonic Tribute to Queen @ Dorchester Abbey
 

Passing Open Windows: A Symphonic Tribute to Queen

Get ready to rock out to the iconic hits of Queen at the Queen Symphonic Tribute! This amazing concert will take place at the magnificent Dorchester Abbey near Wallingford, Oxon, UK. Prepare to be blown away as a 65 piece symphony orchestra brings to life the legendary music of Freddie Mercury and his band. The superb orchestral arrangements by Dee Palmer include perennial favourites such as Bicycle Race, Somebody to Love, Killer Queen, Death on Two Legs, Innuendo, We Are The Champions and many more.

Orchestra: Thames Valley Festival Orchestra

Conductor: Stephen Ellery

 

 

 

 

 

 

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May
18
Sat
Schumann and Mozart
May 18 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Schumann and Mozart @ Dorchester Abbey

Mozart’s popular operatic overture sits hand-in-hand with his triumphant final symphony, a work of huge breadth which showcases his sheer brilliance at every turn. OSJ Artist in Residence Rupert Egerton-Smith performs Schumann’s only piano concerto, a glorious piece where the composer’s great love for his wife Clara shines through.

Mozart Marriage of Figaro overture
Schumann Piano concerto
Mozart Symphony No 41 ‘Jupiter’

Rupert Egerton-smith piano
Orchestra of St John’s

Free tickets available for NHS workers and for the disabled. Please email admin@osj.org.uk.

When you purchase tickets, we politely ask that you consider adding a voluntary donation to support our work in the community and with children in Special Educational Needs schools.

PLEASE PARK RESPONSIBLY IN DORCHESTER VILLAGE. DO NOT BLOCK DRIVEWAY ACCESS NEAR TO THE ABBEY. Parking areas for events are signposted: either the Recreation Ground at the Oxford end, or in the field over the bridge.

£32, £27, £16, £6

 

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May
24
Fri
The English Music Festival
May 24 – May 27 all-day
The English Music Festival @ Dorchester Abbey

For Full Details of the 2024 English Music Festival Please Visit:

The English Music Festival Programme

Would you like to become involved with this Event?

THE ENGLISH MUSIC FESTIVAL 2024

The English Music Festival (EMF) has taken place in and around Dorchester for seventeen years. Now it is moving exclusively to Dorchester, with all concerts to be held in the Abbey and talks and other events in Dorchester Village Hall. We hope to make this even more than ever a community event, with residents and businesses involved and feeling part of the Festival.

But we urgently need the help and support of villagers even more than ever to make this a success and to make the events run smoothly.  Can  you help us? We are looking for both people to host artists and interns and also to be involved on the ground during the Festival itself.

Volunteers will be invited to help with stewarding, refreshments and looking after artists. Not only will you be warmly welcomed by our affable and inclusive group of helpers, but you will have the chance to meet and work with our star artists such as the BBC Concert Orchestra, clarinettist Michael Collins, conductor Hilary Davan Wetton and pianist and Radio 3 presenter Paul Guinery, and the opportunity to attend any or all the concerts. We welcome help over the whole weekend if possible, but if not, then whenever suits your own timetable. Duties can be tailored to your own interests, abilities and preferences. The full programme can be seen at https://www.englishmusicfestival.org.uk/2024-may-festival/programme.php.

Likewise, hosts will be asked to host artists for just a night before or after their concerts; or to host interns (music students) for the four days of the Festival. We would be so grateful for your help!

Please contact Festival Director Em Marshall-Luck at em.marshall-luck@englishmusicfestival.org.uk or on 07808 473889 for more information or if you are able to help.

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Jun
8
Sat
Brahms and Glazunov
Jun 8 @ 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Brahms and Glazunov @ Dorchester Abbey

Famously described as ‘Beethoven’s Tenth’, Brahms’ masterful first symphony took him at least 14 years to write. This powerful work sits alongside two pieces from the Russian composer Alexander Glazunov, including Autumn from his ballet The Seasons. Gifted young performer Elodie Chousmer-Howelles makes her debut with the orchestra, showcasing the technical brilliance required for Glazunov’s dazzling Violin Concerto.

Glazunov Autumn from ‘The Seasons’
Glazunov Violin concerto 
Brahms Symphony No 1

Elodie Chousmer-Howelles violin
Orchestra of St John’s

Free tickets available for NHS workers and for the disabled. Please email admin@osj.org.uk.

When you purchase tickets, we politely ask that you consider adding a voluntary donation to support OSJ’s work in the community and with children in Special Educational Needs schools.

PLEASE PARK RESPONSIBLY IN DORCHESTER VILLAGE. DO NOT BLOCK DRIVEWAY ACCESS NEAR TO THE ABBEY. Parking areas for events are signposted: either the Recreation Ground at the Oxford end, or in the field over the bridge.

 

 

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