> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://serenademagazine.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Oxford’s Schwarzman Centre Announces 2027 Cultural Programme - URL: https://serenademagazine.com/oxfords-schwarzman-centre-announces-2027-cultural-programme/ - Published: 2026-10-10T18:31:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-10T18:30:59.000Z - Description: The University of Oxford’s Schwarzman Centre has unveiled its 2027 cultural programme, featuring Anoushka Shankar, Yo-Yo Ma, Britten Sinfonia and Angela Hewitt in a season exploring music, technology, environmental issues and human wellbeing. - Author: Serenade Team - Tags: News The [Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities](https://serenademagazine.com/university-of-oxford-opens-a-new-concert-hall-and-cultural-venue/) at the University of Oxford has announced its cultural programme for January to July 2027, bringing together leading international musicians, artists, choreographers and filmmakers for a season of performances, exhibitions and interdisciplinary projects. The programme will feature new work by Schwarzman Centre Cultural Fellows Anoushka Shankar, choreographer Wayne McGregor and immersive art collective Marshmallow Laser Feast, alongside appearances by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, pianist Angela Hewitt, chamber ensemble Manchester Collective and hip-hop group De La Soul. Many of the projects have been specially commissioned by the Centre and developed in collaboration with Oxford University researchers, exploring connections between the arts, science, technology, the environment and human wellbeing. Pasted text Among the highlights for classical music audiences is a performance by **Britten Sinfonia with composer and conductor Sir James MacMillan on 20 January 2027**. The programme will include MacMillan’s *Euphonium Concerto, Where the Lugas meets the Glaisnock*, inspired by his childhood in the Scottish mining town of Cumnock and dedicated to soloist David Childs and the composer's euphonium-playing grandfather. The concert will also feature music by Grażyna Bacewicz and an orchestral reimagining of Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 131. On 31 January, the New York-based string quartet Brooklyn Rider will celebrate Philip Glass’s 90th birthday with a programme featuring six of the composer's string quartets, tracing the evolution of his distinctive musical language across more than three decades. The programme will continue with performances marking the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s death. The Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra will present the *Archduke Trio* and *Septet* on 7 February, while the Hebrides Ensemble will bring together Beethoven’s music, projections of Francisco Goya’s paintings and spoken word in *Beethoven / Goya* on 3 March. Pianist Angela Hewitt will perform a recital of Beethoven sonatas on 16 May, spanning works from the composer's early years to the introspective Piano Sonata in A-flat major, Op. 110. Other classical highlights include pianist Paul Lewis exploring Mozart’s influence on later composers on 11 February, and the Gildas Quartet’s *Surround Sound Sessions* on 21 February, which places audiences at the centre of the ensemble as it performs Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 8. ## Yo-Yo Ma and Anoushka Shankar lead a season of musical exploration Cellist **Yo-Yo Ma will undertake a mini-residency at the Schwarzman Centre from 29 April to 2 May 2027**, combining a public conversation with historian Peter Frankopan and a solo performance. The conversation, forming part of the 2027 Tanner Lecture, will explore human values and the environment, while the concert on 2 May will feature unaccompanied works in an intimate setting. The residency reflects Ma’s longstanding interest in music as a means of connecting people, cultures and the natural world. Indian classical musician and composer **Anoushka Shankar will present new work developed through her Cultural Fellowship at the Centre on 16 and 17 June**. Created through research and creative collaborations with Oxford academics, the performances will explore the relationship between sound, health and wellbeing, alongside specially orchestrated works from her acclaimed *Chapter III: We Return to Light* tour. The season will also feature the BBC New Generation Artists in a series of concerts exploring planetary health through music. Performances will include cellist Yibai Chen on 30 April, the Gugg Piano Duo on the same day, and a performance of Schubert’s String Quintet in C major on 1 May, featuring Chen and the Opus13 string quartet. The latter concert will be recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 3. Environmental concerns will inform several other musical projects. On 22 April, Orchestra for the Earth will perform Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony as part of an evening organised with the climate podcast *Outrage + Optimism*, hosted by former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres and conductor John Warner. Manchester Collective will collaborate with field recordist Chris Watson and filmmaker Carlos Casas on *WEATHER* on 27 May, combining Michael Gordon’s composition with recordings of threatened habitats and immersive sound. ## Exploring music, technology and the human experience The Centre’s wider programme will bring music into dialogue with emerging technologies and other art forms. On 9–24 April, Marshmallow Laser Feast and spatial sound artist James Bulley will present *Patterns of Perception: Night Song*, an immersive audiovisual installation inspired by birdsong. Combining spatial audio, moving images and neuroscience, the work will examine how the human brain transforms sound into perception. Wayne McGregor will appear on 8 July in a discussion with Raphaël Millière of Oxford’s Institute for Ethics in AI, accompanied by dancers from Company Wayne McGregor. The event will explore the relationship between physical intelligence, the body and artificial intelligence, drawing on research that will inform McGregor’s forthcoming full-length work, *Tenderness Data*, scheduled to premiere in Hong Kong in May 2028. The season will also extend beyond classical music. De La Soul will curate a day exploring hip-hop’s history and global influence on 27 February, while the programme *K-FLOW: Riding the Korean Wave* on 6 February will examine the international reach of Korean culture through dance, music, film and discussion. The visual arts programme will include *Precision Planet*, an exhibition running from 8 April to 6 June featuring newly commissioned works by Cao Fei, Xin Liu, Abbas Zahedi and the artistic collaboration Tega Brain and Sam Lavigne. Developed with Oxford researchers, the exhibition will consider the relationships between human society, the natural world and artificial intelligence. Opened to the public in April 2026, the Schwarzman Centre houses seven of Oxford University’s humanities faculties, the Bodleian Humanities Library and state-of-the-art performance, screening and exhibition spaces. Its 2027 programme reflects the institution’s ambition to create opportunities for artists and academics to collaborate on questions shaping contemporary life.