Fantasia Orchestra is set to deepen its relationship with the University of Oxford this autumn through a series of major artistic and educational projects, including the world premiere of Nitin Sawhney: Orbiting Orbital at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities.
The new multidisciplinary work will receive two performances in the Sohmen Concert Hall on 6 and 7 November 2026 as part of the Schwarzman Centre’s Utopia Now! season.
Created by award-winning composer and musician Nitin Sawhney and inspired by Samantha Harvey’s Booker Prize-winning novel Orbital, the project combines music, literature, visual art and academic research in a meditation on identity, human connection and the planet.
Premiered by Fantasia Orchestra and conducted by its founder and artistic director Tom Fetherstonhaugh, the production features six new poems by Samantha Harvey, six new musical pieces and a new cantata composed by Sawhney.
The work also incorporates artistic contributions from sculptor Antony Gormley and photographer Mary McCartney, alongside collaborations with academics from across the University of Oxford.
Sawhney will perform piano and guitar during the performances, joined by Aref Durvesh on tabla and dholak, violinist Eos Counsell, and vocalists Shapla Salique and YVA.
Alongside the performances, Fantasia Orchestra will return to Oxford’s Faculty of Music for a composition workshop with undergraduate and postgraduate composers, building on a successful collaboration launched in 2025. The sessions are designed to give emerging composers the opportunity to hear and develop new orchestral works with professional musicians.
The projects form part of an expanding partnership between Fantasia Orchestra, the University’s Cultural Programme and the Faculty of Music, following the orchestra’s involvement in acoustic testing at the new Sohmen Concert Hall and a number of previous performances and workshops.
The Oxford activity comes during Fantasia Orchestra’s tenth anniversary year. Founded by Tom Fetherstonhaugh while still a student, the orchestra has established a reputation for ambitious cross-genre programming and collaborations with leading artists across classical, contemporary and popular music.
Tom Fetherstonhaugh 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.”
Executive Director Michael Garvey added: “Fantasia has always been built around collaboration, and our developing relationship with Oxford brings together many different strands of the orchestra’s work.
“From major public performances to working closely with students and academics, it is an exciting next step for Fantasia as we enter our second decade, and we look forward to seeing where the relationship leads.”
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
