In 1986, a group of inquisitive London musicians took a long hard look at that curious institution we call the Orchestra, and decided to start again from scratch. They began by throwing out the rulebook. Put a single conductor in charge? No way. Specialise in repertoire of a particular era? Too restricting. Perfect a work and then move on? Too lazy. The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment was born.

And as this distinctive ensemble playing on period-specific instruments began to get a foothold, it made a promise to itself. It vowed to keep questioning, adapting and inventing as long as it lived. Residencies at the Southbank Centre and the Glyndebourne Festival didn’t numb its experimentalist bent. A major record deal didn’t iron out its quirks. Instead, the OAE examined musical notes with ever more freedom and resolve.

That creative thirst remains unquenched. The Night Shift series of informal performances are redefining concert formats. Its former home at London’s Kings Place has fostered further diversity of planning and music-making. The ensemble has formed the bedrock for some of Glyndebourne’s most ground-breaking recent productions.

In keeping with its values of always questioning, challenging and trailblazing, in September 2020, the OAE became the resident orchestra of Acland Burghley School, Camden. The residency – a first for a British orchestra – allows the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment to live, work and play amongst the students of the school.

In keeping with its values of always questioning, challenging and trailblazing, in September 2020, the OAE became the resident orchestra of Acland Burghley School, Camden. The residency – a first for a British orchestra – allows the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment to live, work and play amongst the students of the school.

Now more than thirty years old, the OAE is part of our musical furniture. It has even graced the outstanding conducting talents of Elder, Rattle, Jurowski, Iván Fischer and John Butt with a joint title of Principal Artist. But don’t ever think the ensemble has lost sight of its founding vow. Not all orchestras are the same. And there’s nothing quite like this one.

In the 2023/24 season, as part of its residency at the Southbank Centre, the OAE presents JS Bach’s Christmas Oratorio directed by Masaaki Suzuki and Easter Oratorio with Peter Whelan, Mendelssohn’s complete symphony cycle and the piano concertos with Sir András Schiff, and music by Haydn, Purcell, James Redwood, Mozart and Sibelius. Guest artists include Louise Alder, Riccardo Minasi, Maxim Emelyanychev and Alina Ibragimova. It also presents its ground-breaking series Bach, the Universe and Everything - placing six Bach cantatas alongside talks by eminent astronomers - at Kings Place, and The Night Shift where musicians from the OAE perform chamber music in pubs (public houses) around the capital. The OAE is a resident orchestra at Glyndebourne Festival and continues to tour extensively in the UK and internationally; appearances in 2023/24 include at Wiltshire Music Centre, The Anvil in Basingstoke, Portsmouth Guildhall, Saffron Hall (Saffron Walden), Sage Gateshead, Snape Maltings, Holmen’s Kirke in Copenhagen, Bregenz, Kölner Philharmonie, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, and BOZAR in Brussels.

SEASON 2023/2024