Fantasia Orchestra Will Bring NITIN SAWHNEY: ORBITING ORBITAL to Oxford

Fantasia Orchestra is set to deepen its relationship with the University of Oxford this autumn through two major performances at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities and further work with student composers at the Faculty of Music.

The activity builds on Fantasia's growing relationship with both the University's Cultural Programme and Faculty of Music, following the orchestra's involvement in acoustic testing at the new Sohmen Concert Hall in November 2025, a composition workshop with the Faculty of Music later that month, and a 'soft launch' performance at the Schwarzman Centre in February 2026.

At the heart of Fantasia's Oxford activity are two performances of Nitin Sawhney: Orbiting Orbital at the Schwarzman Centre's Sohmen Concert Hall on Friday 6 and Saturday 7 November 2026.

The major new multidisciplinary work brings together award-winning composer and musician Nitin Sawhney and Booker Prize-winning author Samantha Harvey, inspired by Harvey's acclaimed novel Orbital.

Premiered by Fantasia Orchestra and conducted by its Founder and Artistic Director Tom Fetherstonhaugh, the new work features six new poems by Harvey, accompanied by six new pieces of music and a new cantata composed by Sawhney. Artistic contributions from sculptor Antony Gormley and photographer Mary McCartney form part of a meditation on identity, human connection and the planet, moving between personal and planetary perspectives.

Sawhney performs piano and guitar alongside Aref Durvesh on tabla and dholak, violinist Eos Counsell and vocalists Shapla Salique and YVA. The project also brings together academics from across the University of Oxford, including Professor Yadvinder Malhi, Professor of Ecosystem Science; Professor Pablo Mukherjee, Professor of Anglophone World Literature; Professor Neil Bowles, Professor of Planetary Science; and Dr Carly Howett, Associate Professor of Space Instrumentation.

The performances form part of the Schwarzman Centre's Utopia Now! season, exploring the role of the arts in imagining and creating a better future.

Alongside its work within the Schwarzman Centre's public Cultural Programme, Fantasia will return to Oxford's Faculty of Music in November for a composition workshop with undergraduate and graduate student composers, following an initial workshop in November 2025. The sessions give emerging composers the opportunity to hear and develop new orchestral writing with professional musicians.

The Oxford activity comes during a landmark year for Fantasia Orchestra, which celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2026. Founded by Fetherstonhaugh while he was still in Year 13, the orchestra has developed a reputation for ambitious cross-genre programming, close creative relationships with leading artists and a commitment to creating opportunities for the next generation of musicians.

Fantasia returned to the BBC Proms for two performances at the Royal Albert Hall in August 2026, while Fetherstonhaugh was selected as one of the BBC Proms' ten exceptional artists aged 30 and under.

Tom Fetherstonhaugh, Founder, Conductor and Artistic Director, said: “Our relationship with Oxford has developed very naturally over the past year, beginning with the opportunity to play in the new concert hall before it opened to the public and growing through our work with students and the University's wider cultural programme.

“What excites me most is the breadth of what we're able to explore. Orbiting Orbital brings together music, literature, visual art and academic thinking on a remarkable scale, while our work with student composers gives us the chance to support new musical voices directly.

“Oxford has an extraordinary community of musicians, academics and artists, and we're hugely excited to continue developing these relationships.”

Michael Garvey, Executive Director, added: “Fantasia has always been built around collaboration, and our developing relationship with Oxford brings together many different strands of the orchestra's work.