Oxford Harmonic Society

Oxford Harmonic Choir is a large, mixed-voice amateur choir based in Oxford, England. It is the second-oldest non-collegiate choir in Oxford, having been founded in 1921, and according to The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is one of the "institutions of lasting significance to Oxford's musical life that were established during this period". Currently the choir has around 150 singing members and usually performs three concerts annually in either the Sheldonian Theatre or Oxford Town Hall with the Orchestra of Stowe Opera.

Originally the choir was known as the Iffley Glee Club, and after renaming itself the Iffley Choral Society in 1923, it became Oxford Harmonic Society in 1924 after moving base to central Oxford. In August 2014 the choir changed its name to Oxford Harmonic Choir.

A notable element of Oxford Harmonic Choir's performing history has been participation in various music festivals held in Oxford. These included a performance of Haydn's Creation in 1932 as part of a three-day Haydn festival which was described in The New York Times as "by far the most genial as well as the most admirable commemoration Great Britain has had of one whose popularity in the eighteenth century rivalled that of Handel himself".

Other festivals involving performances by the choir included the 1948 Oxford Festival of British Music and the 1950 Oxford Festival of Johann Sebastian Bach and the 1951 Oxford Festival of Arts linked to the Festival of Britain.

Another long-established and oft-noted tradition of the choir is the programming of rarely performed works in addition to the standard choral repertoire. Examples of this include:

Since 1985, the choir has also taken part in a number of joint performances with the Bonn Philharmonic Choir in both Bonn and Oxford as part of activities celebrating the links between these twinned cities. One of the highlights of this partnership was a performance of Elgar's Dream of Gerontius in Bonn on 22 September 1991, also involving the Cologne Philharmonic. In addition to a highly enthusiastic response from the audience and reviewers from the Bonn press, the concert also gained considerable attention from The Elgar Society.

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