RETUNE Festival
Tickets - Lots of events are free, student tickets are all below £8 and general tickets are all less than £15
RETUNE Festival is returning from March 3rd-14th. The Festival, spearheaded by the Oxford-based Alternative Canon Project, celebrates the commitment, courage and creativity of under-represented music makers. Launched to great success last year, this year’s edition is packed with 27 events, covering a range of styles and genres, all promoting underrepresented musicians and music.
Erin Townsend, one of four Artistic Directors of the Festival, said: “We are proud that all of our events spotlight music that has been excluded from historical processes of canon formation which traditionally favour composers who are white, able-bodied, cisgender, and heterosexual men. Our mission at the Alternative Canon Project is to redress this balance by programming a wider range of music, giving marginalised voices a platform, and introducing audiences to some incredible music in the process.”
Highlights of the 2025 Festival include two song recitals with professional artists at the Holywell Music Room (Mon 3rd March & Thu 13th March) and the World Premiere of Dr Anita Datta’s symphonic organ work played by the composer at Exeter College Chapel (Tue 11th March). This year’s Panel Event focuses on queer issues in musical discourse, with panellists including broadcaster and bassoonist Linton Stephens (Mon 10th March). The centrepiece event of the Festival is a celebration of Samuel and Avril Coleridge-Taylor with Oxford University Chorus and Players on International Women's Day (Sat 8th March).
RETUNE is run by the city-wide student initiative, Alternative Canon Project (ACP) which encourages increased diversity in concert programming. They provide resources and advice, alongside organising events which showcase the huge benefits of playing music by composers and artists from a diverse range of backgrounds.
ACP would like to thank the Faculty of Music and Oxford University Music Society for their support of the event.
You can find the full list of events below:
RETUNE Festival 2025
Monday 3 March, 13.00
Holywell Music Room
Lunchtime with Five Old Ladies
Song recital
Monday 3 March, 18.00
Holywell Music Room
Indian Classical Showcase
Tuesday 4 March, 19.30
Jacqueline du Pre Music Building
A lovely day-dream: Betty & Grace
Chamber music
Wednesday 5 March, 13.00
Holywell Music Room
SHOUT! Brass Sextet
Wednesday 5 March, 19.00
Holywell Music Room
Bacewicz: Music for Strings
Viola quartet
Thursday 6 March, 11.30
Trinity College Chapel
The Heart’s Desire: Queering the English Anthology
Song recital
Thursday 6 March, 19.30
Location TBC
Inviolate, produced by æftersang ensemble
Choir
Friday 7 March, 13.15
Christ Church Cathedral
Faculty of Music International Women’s Day Concert
Instrumental recital
Friday 7 March, 19.30
Wesley Memorial Church
A Night of Opera and Ballet
Wind Orchestra
Saturday 8 March, 17.00
Somerville College Chapel
Somerville Music Society International Women’s Day Concert
Instrumental recital
Saturday 8 March, 19.30
St Matthew’s Church
A Celebration of the Coleridge-Taylors
Choral and orchestral concert
Sunday 9 March, 17.30
Somerville College Chapel
Choral Contemplation: ‘Retuning: Between Empowerment and Vulnerability’
Choir
Sunday 9 March, 19.00
Lady Margaret Hall Chapel
An Evening of Organ Music at LMH
Monday 10 March, 11.00
Holywell Music Room
La Voix Féminine
Song recital
Monday 10 March, 13.00
Holywell Music Room
Music by British Women
Chamber music
Monday 10 March, 15.00
Holywell Music Room
The Female Viola: 20th Century French Works
Monday 10 March, 18.00
Holywell Music Room
Panel: Queering Musical Discourse
Monday 10 March, 20.00
Christ Church Cathedral
Sketchbook
String ensemble
Tuesday 11 March, 11.30
Trinity College Chapel
Trans Voices
Song Recital
Tuesday 11 March, 13.15
Exeter College Chapel
Taan: Raga Explorations on the Organ
Organ recital
Tuesday 11 March, 20.00
Lady Margaret Hall Chapel
The Female Composer as Performer
Oboe recital
Wednesday 12 March, 19.30
Somerville College Chapel
Duo and Solo Piano Music, produced by Somerville Festival of Piano
Thursday 13 March, 13.00
Holywell Music Room
Rejection, Resilience and Rebellion: A Woman’s Life
Song recital
Thursday 13 March, 16.00
Holywell Music Room
Fanny Hensel Piano Trio
Thursday 13 March, 19.30
Holywell Music Room
Longing and Belonging, produced by Art Beyond Border Initiative
Friday 14 March, 18.00
St Edward’s School
Let’s Build A Town, produced by Music at Oxford
Hindemith opera
Friday 14 March, 20.00
Location TBC
Farrenc and Beach: Orchestral Pioneer
Chamber orchestra
