Dorchester Abbey

Ding, dong, merrily on high! OSJ Voices will raise the roof in this festive evening of wide-ranging music celebrating Christmas.

From the quiet beauty of the opening to the triumphant “Hallelujah” chorus, Handel’s much-loved masterpiece is filled with moments of drama, joy and sublime beauty. John Lubbock and the orchestra are joined by the OSJ Voices and a stellar line-up of soloists for a very special festive evening of live music.

A Celebration of the Dance. Waltzes, Marches and favourites Galore!
Our ever-popular New Year Concert returns. A concert to set the feet tapping, the hands clapping with its joyous dance music, dispelling all thoughts of winter’s cold.

An evening of sumptuous orchestral music, from the intimate introspection of Brahms’s Symphony No. 3 to the sublime beauty of Richard Strauss’s Four Last Songs, a profoundly moving farewell for soprano and orchestra. The programme concludes with the irresistible charm and nostalgic splendour of the waltzes from Der Rosenkavalier.

Written in 1902–1903, Arnold Schoenberg's Pelleas und Melisande is a massive, highly complex symphonic poem.
Rachmaninov’s Vocalise is a gorgeously melancholic wordless song originally written for high voice and piano.
Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 2 in C minor is a towering masterpiece of the Romantic era. Premiered in 1901 with the composer himself as the soloist, it is a deeply emotional work of lush harmonies, sweeping lyricism, and sweeping virtuosity.