"Every bar of The Creation proclaims Haydn’s confident religious convictions — he was an old man when he wrote it, but his faith sounds sparklingly fresh and youthful. That overriding aspect of the music was well brought out by the chorus in this performance. “Awake the harp”, “The heavens are telling” and “Achieved is the glorious work” came over as explosions of joy, with conductor Lubbock setting OSJ Voices some fast tempi. Well balanced across the four parts, the Voices (chorus master: Jeremy Jackman) more than held their own however, rising to some terrific climaxes."
OXFORD TIMES
The Creation, Dorchester Abbey

"[As] John Lubbock unfolded the opening chorus, his sensitivity to the
words, and to the consequent dynamics, was most memorable throughout."
OXFORD TIMES
St John Passion, Dorchester Abbey

'The Orchestra of St John's gave an outstanding performance under the direction of John Lubbock in only two works, played with such intensity and drive that any additional music would have overwhelmed their impact.'
GLOUCESTERSHIRE ECHO
Cheltenham Town Hall

'some particularly silky playing from the Orchestra of St John's.'
THE TIMES
Falstaff at Grange Park Opera

'The Orchestra of St John's played magnificently under André de Ridder, doing full justice to the score.'
MUSIC AND VISION )
The Gambler at Grange Park Opera

'Lubbock and OSJ are a golden instrument, perfect in ensemble and balance. The structure of any piece is safe in their hands.'
YORKSHIRE POST
Leeds Town Hall

'OSJ remains an impressive ensemble. Lubbock perfectly negotiated the music's fine line between childhood fantasy and the perils of adult experience.'
THE GUARDIAN
Queen Elizabeth Hall

'OSJ presents imaginative programmes which include unjustly neglected works unfussily played in a style that allows the music to reveal itself.'

'Schubert's perfectly written Fifth Symphony was perfectly performed.'
YORKSHIRE POST
St George's Hall, Bradford

'The intensity of emotion which conductor John Lubbock drew from Elgar's Introduction and Allegro for Strings was a forerunner of the impressive playing which followed in Dallapiccola's Piccola musica notturna .'

'Mozart's Symphony No 40 in G minor .[was] a musically sensitive reading of a score the orchestra must have played often but which came over as a fresh performance thanks to the fire and energy of their conductor.'
Gloucestershire Echo)
Cheltenham Town Hall

'Stravinsky's two Suites for Small Orchestra inhabit the world of Petrushka and.John Lubbock and the Orchestra of St John's caught both the spirit of open-air hilarity and its gentle subversion.'

'A sharing of rare, arcane pleasures.'
EVENING STANDARD
John Woolrich 50 th Birthday Concert

'The first delight was the punch displayed in the Marriage of Figaro overture by John Lubbock's band.'
The Times
John Woolrich 50 th Birthday Concert

'OSJ's.première of Woolrich's Three Songs from the Book of Disquiet.caught well the witty innocence of the first song and the weightier unease of the third.[with] beautifully played string accompaniments.'

'The best was saved until last: Woolrich's Viola Concerto, shaped with care and instinctive feeling by.John Lubbock.'
The Guardian
John Woolrich 50 th Birthday Concert

'Lubbock and OSJ's commitment was heart-warming.. A great birthday tribute [John Woolrich 50 th Birthday Concert] to a composer always worth hearing.'

'In typical exquisite style, John Woolrich's 50 th birthday.was celebrated by OSJ and its founder-conductor John Lubbock.'

'An evening that added up to so much more than its individual parts.'
The Classical Source
John Woolrich 50 th Birthday Concert

'The mood of each piece seemed to complement each other...and conductor John Lubbock coaxed performances of great sensitivity from his players. Every nuance of the music was allowed to unhurriedly express itself...the closing phrases produced a moving, hushed effect which seemed to cast a spell over the audience.'
GLOUCESTERSHIRE ECHO
Cheltenham Town Hall

'Conductor John Lubbock's crisp direction of some extremely talented musicians and very fine voices ensured an evening of superb music that made a fitting end to this year's festival.'
HENLEY STANDARD
Music in the Abbey 2002

'The remarkable OSJ Chamber Ensemble...emphasise bewitching clarity of form. Perfect balance among the instruments, with Poster's true Mozartian musicianship...reflected calm good humour and elegant wit. Amid the fire and ice, and the zestful commitment of the players, the questing Andante emerged as something special.'
OXFORD TIMES
Music in the Abbey 2002

'A concert of outstanding entertainment and quality . . .there were passages of intense power which blew away to reveal the serenest, sweetest music I have heard in a long time.'
EVENING EXPRESS

'There is something very special about Lubbock's commitment to the music he conducts and how he communicates its gist to an audience, finished with the loving care Beecham once brought, an unforced warmth and radiance of orchestral timbre. The results are spellbinding.'
THE SUNDAY TIMES

'With buoyant rhythm from the conductor John Lubbock and his band, the performance in general made you fall in love with music all over again.'
THE TIMES

'We could visibly see the enthusiasm of the musicians of the OSJ instead of the apathy of symphonic musicians . . . all the pieces were performed with the same impetus and exquisiteness of sound which explains the reputation of this orchestra.'
EL ESPECTADOR - COLOMBIA

'The Orchestra of St John's is something different. It is outstanding among the other music ensembles in London . The Orchestra showed respect for detail and a gist for communication between the musicians and between them and the conductor.'
KULTURA - BULGARIA

'Resembling a praying mantis, well over 6 ft. tall and very long-limbed, the music breathes through his (Lubbock's) every inch, lovingly . . .and mirrored by his attentive orchestra and choir.'
THE GLASGOW HERALD

'John Lubbock and the OSJ have produced something singular, heartfelt and unaffectedly memorable.'
THE EVENING STANDARD

  What the Audience Say ...
  What the Audience Say ...