JOINING THE ORCHESTRA

Attending a rehearsal

Members would ideally have achieved at least Grade 8 (wind) and Grade 7 (strings) or equivalent, ideally with some orchestral experience. 

We usually invite prospective players to join us for an informal 2-3 week subscription-free trial period at our usual rehearsals. Section leaders would then normally advise on moving forward. 

We do ask members to be regular in their attendance, but do have a regular number of ‘deps’ to join us when our regular players (particularly wind and brass) cannot make a rehearsal. 

Rehearsals

Our rehearsal venue is the main hall of St Mary and St John CE Primary School, Meadow Lane, Oxford OX4 1TJ (accessible by car via Bedford Street). 

We meet on Thursday evenings from 19:30 to 21:30 from the first Thursday in September until the summer concert (except between Christmas and New Year, and Maundy Thursday). 

Subscription

The 2024/25 annual subscription is £160, or £40 per term if your instrument is not required for every concert, or if you won't be in Oxford for the whole year. You will normally be expected to pay your subscription for the year immediately after the successful 2-3 week trial period. 

Gift Aid

As a Registered Charity, we operate the Gift Aid scheme to reclaim tax from the Government to augment our income. If you are a UK tax payer, we ask you to consider helping us in this way. Using Gift Aid means that for every pound you give, we receive an extra 28p from HM Revenue and Customs. This means that a £10 Gift Aid donation is worth £12.80 to us without costing you any extra.