RETUNE is a collaboration between the Alternative Canon Project, Oxford University Music Society (OUMS), and the Faculty of Music. We present a festival that reflects the diversity of underrepresented groups in music, both past and present, including performers, composers/arrangers, teachers, patrons, curators, writers and activists.

The Alternative Canon Project (ACP) was founded by the students of Somerville College Music Society and has grown to support diverse musical programming across the University. Through provision of resources and curation of their own events, the ACP is showcasing the benefits of playing and listening to music by composers and artists from a diverse range of backgrounds. OUMS is at the forefront of University Music Societies in promoting inclusivity and representation within the world of classical music, having launched the Diversity in Music Project last year. They are delighted to have an official partnership with ACP.

Both Projects are testament to the intellectual curiosity and dedication that students across the University bring to the commitment of giving voice to the under-represented. At the Faculty of Music, the teaching, coaching, mentoring and academic dialogues this year have likewise given a strong spotlight to the questions, courage and actions of those who have used music to empower. This year, the Faculty has expanded on its commitment to the yearly International Women’s Day celebration by involving students and professionals in an ambitious array of mentored-projects culminating in public performances at the Holywell Music Room.

Over the course of two weeks, venues across Oxford will be hive of activity for a series of student and professional concerts, talks, workshops, and pre-concert events, curated by ACP, OUMS, and the Director of Performance & Performance Studies Dr Maria Razumovskaya with the Music Faculty's Events Team.

Please find below the full festival schedule:

Monday 26 February
Diverse Voices lunchtime concert (Alternative Canon Project) - 1pm, Holywell Music Room

Pre Concert Talk by Emma Arthur - Stories from her Songbooks, An Exploration of Music & Girlhood in nineteenth-century Ireland as found in surviving bound songbooks (Faculty of Music) - 6.45pm, Holywell Music Room

Small but Mighty (Faculty of Music) - 7.30pm, Holywell Music Room

Tuesday 27 February
French Connections (Faculty of Music) - 12.30pm, Holywell Music Room (this concert will precede a masterclass with Paul Roberts, taking place from 2.30pm - 4.30pm).

Paul Roberts - So Much Colour, So Much Rhythm (Faculty of Music) - 7.30pm, Holywell Music Room

OUSE 'Journeys' (Alternative Canon Project) - 7.30pm, St Peter's Chapel

Wednesday 28 February
Loosening the Canon panel event (Alternative Canon Project) - 6pm, Denis Arnold Hall (Faculty of Music)

Hindustani Classical Recital: Khyal in evening raags (Alternative Canon Project) - 7.30pm, Holywell Music Room

Thursday 29 February
A Celebration of Queer Music (Alternative Canon Project) - 1.15pm, St Peter's College Chapel

Sunday 3 March
Oboe recital of music by female composers (Alternative Canon Project) - 1.15pm, Somerville College Chapel

Violetta Suvini - violin recital (Alternative Canon Project) - 3pm, St John's College Auditorium

Monday 4 March
Queer Open Score! An interactive lecture-workshop of LGBTQ contemporary music (Alternative Canon Project) - 4.30pm, Denis Arnold Hall (DAH) Faculty of Music

WCMS International Women's Day Concert - 7.30pm, The Provost's Lodgings

Tuesday 5 March
Representative programming in Collegiate Chapels talk (Alternative Canon Project) - 2pm, Online

Wednesday 6 March
OX-RAM Students Organ Recital (Faculty of Music) - 1.30pm, Christ Church Cathedral

Open rehearsal of Ruth Gipps, Symphony no.3 (Alternative Canon Project) - 7pm, St Peter's College Chapel

Thursday 7 March
And You Sing What I Sang From a Full Heart with No Display of Art (Faculty of Music) - 12.30pm, Holywell Music Room

Maria Theresia Paradis - 200 years later talk (Alternative Canon Project) - 12.30pm, Denis Arnold Hall Faculty of Music

Weaving the Margins: The Viola of Clarke and Brahms (Alternative Canon Project) - 1.15pm, Jesus College

Off the Beaten Track (Faculty of Music) - 7.30pm, Holywell Music Room

Somerville Music Society International Women's Day Concert (Alternative Canon Project) - 7.30pm, Somerville Chapel

Friday 8 March
Women, Two Pianos and More (Faculty of Music) - 1pm, Holywell Music Room

Karpeyev-Razumovksaya Piano Duo and Music Faculty Students in Concert (Faculty of Music) - 6pm, Holywell Music Room

Uyumhane (Turkish Music Collective) - 8.15pm, Green Templeton Bar

Ethel Smyth: Mass in D (Alternative Canon Project) - 8.30pm, Christ Church Cathedral