News

• Sir Charles Mackerras 1925-2010
  The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment is greatly saddened to learn of the death of Sir Charles Mackerras.

  One of the OAE’s Emeritus Conductors, Sir Charles was a terrific force in the revival of Handel even before his first concert with the OAE in 1987 just a year after the Orchestra was formed. From his first concert he formed an immediate rapport with the Orchestra, becoming one of the Orchestra’s most regular conductors and being appointed Emeritus Conductor in 2007. Sir Charles also made many recordings with the OAE, starting with Schubert in 1987 and most recently Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte, which was also the last work that he conducted in public earlier this summer at Glyndebourne, again with the OAE.

  Stephen Carpenter, Chief Executive of the OAE commented:

  “It is difficult to think that such a vibrant musical personality is no longer with us. Any concert or opera performance conducted by Sir Charles was an event that every musician in the OAE looked forward to and enjoyed. The OAE players, board and management staff had the highest respect and love for Sir Charles and we are grateful for the many happy musical memories that he gave to us and to audiences throughout the world; memories that will thankfully live on through his extensive recorded legacy.”

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• Our search for a Night Shift Pod Idol, looking for someone to be the voice of The Night Shift podcasts was a huge hit, attracting 2,500 votes. Listen out for winner Raul on future podcasts.
  

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• Our 2010-2011 Southbank Centre season is now on sale to the general public. Click here to download our concert brochure. Booking information can also be found at the Southbank Centre website.
  The new season brochure should be with you soon so do look out for it.

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• Our last Night Shift this season was on the 25 May, where we played Beethoven's Symphony No.6, conducted by Eduardo Portal. Here's some pictures from the night.

  More information on our late night concerts can be found on our Night Shift website.

  Eduardo was also featured in the Evening Standard on May 20, 2010, click here to see the article.

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• OAE helpdesk now online!
  We are now on Windows Messenger, so you can talk live to a member of staff if you need help booking a concert, want more information on a piece of music or if you want to give us feedback. Our address is
  Add us as a contact and we will try to answer all your questions.

  We're also now on Twitter- find us by searching for 'theoae'!

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• Summer with the OAE
  We’ve only got two concerts left in our current season at the Southbank Centre, but it’s certainly not going to be a lazy summer for the Orchestra. As usual, we’ll be playing at Glyndebourne Festival Opera, participating in exciting productions of Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte (May- July) and Don Giovanni (July-August). Both performances are sold out but please telephone the Glyndebourne Box Office for returns nearer to the performance dates. We’ll also be appearing in the City of London Festival on 26 June and Kings Lynn Festival on 24 July as well as touring with Rachel Podger to Stresa in August. Back in London we are pleased to be making an appearance at the BBC Proms on 1 August with Sir Simon Rattle and Sarah Connolly, which will then be repeated in Baden-Baden. Don’t forget you can get full details of all performances on our website at oae.co.uk and can keep track of what the Orchestra is up to on our blog.