A message from our Artistic Director:
I am writing to you today with an update on OBS’ response to the coronavirus crisis.
The Headline
Following discussion with the Board of Trustees, we have taken the decision to cancel all OBS concerts currently planned through to March 2021, with the hope of resuming our usual pattern of concert-giving on Good Friday 2021.
The Rationale
As you know, we founded OBS with a very particular mission, to:
- Perform all of Bach’s vocal works…
- …in chronological order of composition…
- …at liturgically appropriate times of the year.
It is for the sake of honouring this unique proposition that we have decided to press pause on the project. Restarting on Good Friday 2021 will allow us to pick up at the moment in the chronology where the coronavirus crisis forced us to stop.
Our hope is that Easter 2021 also represents a realistic time by which we can expect that live concerts with audiences might be permitted, and that the public’s confidence to gather again will be sufficiently restored.
In the meantime…
This does not mean that OBS will lie dormant between now and Easter 2021. While we cannot come together for live music-making, we are exploring several ways to keep bringing OBS to you. Watch this space…
Should live concerts with audiences be possible before Easter 2021, we aren’t ruling out an earlier return to the concert platform for a selection of special performances (independent of the Bach vocal works chronology).
How can I help?
The generosity of our Friends and supporters has enabled us to extend our commitment to paying OBS players part-fees for cancelled concerts up to the end of December. We hope this provides some small relief from the continued uncertainty affecting freelance musicians, and we can look to the future with confidence, and plan for our many tomorrows.
Donations can be made via PayPal by clicking the button below, or by cheque to Oxford Bach Soloists, 6 Springfield Road, Oxford, OX2 9HJ
Thank you for making OBS possible.
Warmest wishes
Tom Hammond-Davies
Artistic Director
