Sunday 5th July 2026

Music

How an Oxford undergraduate made a name in choral music

When he arrived at Oxford, he expected his future to lie primarily in orchestral music. Instead, it was choral music that transformed his direction.

‘Music can be everything’: Aurora Orchestra’s Jane Mitchell on the narratives around classical music

The Aurora Orchestra, who are playing at Oxford’s Schwarzman Centre on the 19th June, are best known for performing their orchestral repertoire from memory.

Rap as poetry: ‘The Odyssey’ and the breakdown of the medium

When interviewed on his decision to cast Travis Scott as a bard figure in...

Is the dancefloor really dead?

Tongue-in-cheek as it may be, Charli xcx’s ‘Rock Music’ speaks to the structural issues actively decimating nightlife across the world, even if her motivations may be more aesthetic than political.

Lust for Life: Lana Del Rey

A genre in herself, Lana’s sleepy Hollywood aesthetic and tragic love songs have earned her success in the indie pop scene. Under her...

NoFriendz: “Show up next time Oxford, you bastards”

Meet NoFriendz - they may not be your favourite band yet, but they probably deserve to be.

August’s Here Already

Newly formed supergroup August Greene use their music to bring to life the African American experience.

Cambridge carnage creators conquer Oxford

Cellar continues to be a goldmine of underground musical talent

David Bowie: The art of getting on a bit

The life of Ziggy defied expectation.

Death and the maiden

An exploration of Verdi and the orchestra

Listening to Music on Repeat

Why shuffle is simply no longer an option

Math Roberts discusses his new song cycle ‘What Comes After’

How did 'What Comes After' come about, is it a new piece or have you had it in the pipeline for a while? The idea...

Fame, fortune and failure

Debunking the Unk: the curious tale of Curtis Adams

Music and the Comeback Kids

Molly Innes discusses the art of the comeback, the “reunion” cash cow, and throwback culture

The rise of lo-fi

What makes imperfections so attractive?

Review: Shostakovich 7 with the Oxford University Orchestra

Peter Stark conducts a moving performance of Shostakovich 7 with the Oxford University Orchestra

Interview: renowned opera singer Iestyn Davies

Cambridge, choirs, colleges and everything else

Classical music’s illusions

Lauren Hill discusses the captivating, and yet illusory effects of performing music at a point where music education is under threat

Review: Eugene Onegin at St John’s College Auditorium

The People's Opera's production of Eugene Onegin is a great achievement against the odds

Cracked Actors: Invention and Reinvention in Music

A change of persona can yield new creative space and energy.

The Forgiveness Arc

Here are some of the best musical theatre songs centred around forgiveness

Sexualisation in music: liberation or objectification?

Art and creative expression have always made up our social and sensitive nature, from telling stories, to performing primal dances, to painting scenes of human experience on cave walls.

“Look what you made me do”: Taylor Swift’s reinvention

The reinvention of her ‘reputation’ is not a change of character nor a sudden shift in her attitude to the spotlight. The Reputation era was simply a rebranding of sound, lyricism, production and image which worked to provoke her audience and, ironically, sustain her reputation.

Review: The 1975’s latest album falls short

Some robotic pretentious waffle. Some cynical love songs. Some good hooks, a few nice bridges. Rinse and repeat for an album for an identikit album, with a dozen else out there the same.

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