Campbell Park Amphitheatre

(nearest postcode MK9 3FT)

Saturday 24th July, 8pm (Gates 6.30pm)

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BRIDGE Moonlight

ELGAR Cello Concerto

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BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 2

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John Warner conductor

Rebecca McNaught cello

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Health and Safety note: this is an outdoor event, and social distancing measures will be in place at all times to ensure the safety of ticket holders and staff members. Multiple sanitation stations will be available in place around the event site. These requirements are liable to change in accordnace with Government guidance. For more information, please visit the Milton Keynes International Festival Website.

At OFE we believe in taking classical music into natural spaces, so we invite you to join us for a special performance in Campbell Park—a haven of peace in the centre of a bustling metropolis. Urban though it is, Milton Keynes is also known as the 'city of trees', boasting over 22 million of them, which is why we've chosen it to host a concert for a very special cause. 

For centuries, string instrument bows have been made from one unique tree, found deep in the Brazilian rainforest: the Pernambuco. 93% of the astonishingly biodiverse forest where it grows has been cut down, and the tree now faces extinction. We've teamed up with Trees of Music, who are working with local farmers and conservationists to save this tree, which is so vital for playing the music we all love.

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And what better way to demonstrate the extraordinary qualities of the Pernambuco than Elgar's Cello Concerto? We're delighted to be performing this alongside rising-star Rebecca McNaught. The programme also includes Beethoven's utterly thrilling second symphony, and Frank Bridge's Moonlight.

After the concert audience members are invited to visit the nearby exhibit of Luke Jerram's remarkable Museum of the Moon, situated in the Tree Cathedral. 

For the Trees

King's Place, London

Thursday 26th November 2020, 8pm

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MAHLER Symphony No. 9
(80 mins, no interval)

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John Warner conductor

‘It is the expression of tremendous love for this Earth, the longing to live upon it in peace, to enjoy nature to its greatest depths…’ (Alban Berg on Mahler’s Ninth Symphony)

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Experience Mahler's masterpiece like never before, in a chamber arrangement that is as intimate as it is visceral, performed under breathtaking images of Alpine glaciers. 

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The natural world that Mahler adored, and that his Ninth Symphony conjures up so beautifully, is under greater threat now than ever before. The Alps have already undergone dramatic changes since Mahler's lifetime, none more apparent than the retreat of glaciers. The science shows that without dramatic and immediate action to de-carbonise, Alpine glaciers will shrink by 95% by the end of the century. Join us for a unique performance of Mahler's masterpiece, and learn how we can avert the crisis we all face.

Mahler 9: can we save Europe's glaciers?