Learning and Participation

Our Projects

Music at Oxford’s Learning and Participation programme is guided by three core values:

• Excellence – we deliver projects of the highest possible quality in community settings around Oxfordshire.
• Equality – our work is participant-led while being supported by the skills and experience of the specialist musicians who facilitate our projects.
• Community – collaborative music-making has the unique ability to create genuine connections between people; we believe that our projects allow for meaningful encounters between the diverse communities of Oxfordshire.

Find out about some of our projects in more detail below:

Music Making with Yellow Submarine 

This year, Music at Oxford is delivering a series of inclusive music workshops in partnership with Yellow Submarine (Oxford), a charity that supports young adults with learning disabilities and autism to build life skills, confidence, and independence. The sessions are being designed and facilitated by local music leaders Luke Newby-Smith and Hannah Fredsgaard. Working closely with staff at Yellow Submarine, Luke and Hannah have tailored the sessions to the interests, access needs, and creative strengths of the participants.

Through collaborative music-making, songwriting, and group activities, these unique workshops aim to create a supportive and enjoyable space where participants can express themselves, develop musical and communication skills, and build confidence in working with others. We hope that this programme will lead to increased self-expression, social connection, creative confidence, and a sense of achievement, while supporting Yellow Submarine’s wider mission of enabling young people to lead fuller, more independent lives.

Fretwork x Lord Williams School Composition Project 

Late last year, Music at Oxford coordinated a series of music composition workshops at Lord Williams School with local viol ensemble Fretwork and facilitator Electra Perivolaris. Across a series of creative sessions, GCSE music students explored new approaches to composition, experimenting with sound, structure, and notation while developing their confidence and individuality as young composers. The programme was designed to open up the world of professional music-making, giving students direct insight into the creative process and encouraging them to take bold, imaginative steps beyond the classroom.

The outcomes of the project were both musically and personally significant for the students involved. Working closely with Fretwork and Electra, every group created and refined original compositions, which were then brought to life in a live performance by Fretwork. This opportunity to hear their own music performed at a professional level was a powerful and memorable experience, deepening students’ engagement and pride in their work. The workshops fostered creativity, collaboration, and focused listening, leaving participants with a lasting sense of achievement and an exciting foundation for their future musical journeys.

Let’s Build A Town

Let’s Build a Town! was co-curated with Dr Giles Masters (Magdalen College) and engaged the largest and most artistically diverse team of creatives in an L&P project to date. The project was inspired by Giles’ research into German composer Paul Hindemith’s children’s opera of the same name, which was performed by local schoolchildren at the Holywell Music Room, Oxford, in 1931. Fifty-five Year 4 & 5 students from St. Francis CofE Primary School were involved in 2 months of workshops with a 12 strong team of musicians, dancers, a director, a composer, a set designer and an evaluator. Around forty GCSE and A Level students from Oxford Spires Academy were also involved in 2 days of composition workshops, directly shaping how our composer arranged the new and original musical material for the final performance. The project aimed to explore themes such as city planning, belonging and identity, while also providing an opportunity for children to create a performance that included elements of music, dance, spoken word, set design and performative games. The final performance was given at the Olivier Hall, St. Edward’s School in March 2025. You can watch a film that summarises the project below.

Our Garden

Our Garden was a joyful, large-scale celebration of the music of Arvo Pärt, bringing together hundreds of young singers from across Oxfordshire for an unforgettable shared performance at Olivier Hall. With children and young people at its heart, the project gave participants the chance to sing beautiful, challenging music in a professional setting—many for the very first time. The concert built to a powerful massed choir finale that filled the hall with sound, energy, and a real sense of togetherness, earning a standing ovation from a packed audience (including the Estonian Ambassador and Arvo’s son, Michael!).

Life Music at Iffley Residential and Care Home

As part of our Learning & Participation programme, Music at Oxford was proud to coordinate “Life Music” at Iffley Residential and Care Home, led by Luke Newby-Smith. This series of workshops brought the joy of group improvisatory music-making to adults living with dementia, offering a space where music became a shared language.

Each session was co-created with participants who guided the music through physical, verbal, or musical cues—allowing everyone to join in freely, without the need to learn or remember songs. This flexible and inclusive approach placed emphasis on musical conversation, enabling moments of expression, connection, and creativity in the present.

Life Music demonstrated the power of music to support wellbeing, dignity, and community, providing a meaningful and uplifting experience for residents, carers, and musicians alike. You can hear some of the residents’ improvised pieces below:

“It was a unique opportunity to bring together residents from the care home who would not normally have overlapping interests, to work together and see another side of each other. A diverse range of composition from Luke, Felicity and Lauren added layers of dimension to the resident’s contributions and truly brought us a non judgemental space to be ourselves and be a part of something bigger. At such a time in our resident’s lives, the opportunity to experience this is truly special. I am already being asked when you will next be back!” 

Charlotte Woolf, Activities Co-ordinator, Iffley Residential and Care Home.

FUNDING

Music at Oxford relies entirely on the generous support of individuals, trusts and foundations to fund this ground-breaking work. To find out how you can help provide high-quality music making in Oxfordshire head to our Support page or contact Acting Learning and Participation Manager Em Burrows – em@musicatoxford.com.