Page 24 - Mansfield 2019/20

Encore!
In July 2020 we said a very fond farewell to Mansfield Director of Music, John Oxlade. Here, Professorial Fellow in Physics and music enthusiast, Professor Stephen Blundell, reflects on the myriad ways in which John has enriched the musical life of the College over many years.
John Oxlade, who is stepping down as Mansfield’s Director of Music after 14 years of devoted service, has transformed the College’s musical life, leading the Chapel choir and organising numerous recitals.
John’s musical training started young, as a boy chorister at Southwark Cathedral, and though he read History as an Exhibitioner at Corpus Christi, Cambridge, he returned to the musical path with postgraduate diplomas at the Royal College of Music. A highly accomplished pianist, harpsichordist and organist, he has performed from
a wide repertoire during his time at Mansfield, but perhaps his most important contribution has been in coaxing some dazzling performances out of the highly gifted student body.
Mansfield does not have any students reading Music, but many Mansfield students are extremely musical. John has been able to persuade soloists to come
out of the woodwork and perform, or emerge as singers to join the choir. He
has had an uncanny knack of extracting and nurturing latent talent. As students inevitably graduate, John has had to endure the annual loss of strong singers from
the choir. Nevertheless, each October
he has welcomed new, less experienced voices to join and has slowly brought them up to standard; watching this growth of talent and confidence has been deeply encouraging and in John’s patient guidance we have seen a true teacher at work.
Was it his historical training that made John’s programme notes such a treasure trove of interesting nuggets, and indeed influenced his programming? A 2010 performance of Rossini’s La Cambiale di Matrimonio was on the 200th anniversary, to the day, of the premiere of Rossini’s first opera, and there are countless examples of John’s brilliant sensitivity to anniversaries. But equally impressive is the wide historical scope of his musical choices, with the choir’s repertoire ranging from Tudor music to works specially written for them, including premieres by students Josie Bearden and Dennis Christensen. Large- scale works performed include Bach’s
St John Passion, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, Fauré’s Requiem, Bellini’s Gloria, Vivaldi’s Gloria, and Elgar’s Spirit of England.
John has also used his many contacts to bring in professional musicians to play for
us and augment performances. However, for me, some of the most memorable recitals have been duets between a Mansfield student, perhaps playing oboe, clarinet, violin, viola or saxophone, and John, delivering a beautifully sensitive accompaniment on the piano.
With the creation of Choral Scholarships and the instituting of Instrumental Awards, the profile of music in Mansfield has remained on an upward trajectory. John has been there at the centre, quietly encouraging and guiding, contributing in a very special way to the spiritual life of the College, and adding something unique to a whole generation
of Mansfield students. During services
he has made the singing of the choir, the voluntaries and hymns all an integral part of the Chapel life, and they have always added to, and been sympathetic to, the spiritual purpose of the services.
It is a measure of the affection in which he is held at Mansfield that John was made an Honorary Fellow in 2011, meaning of course that he is not really leaving us.
We wish him well in his future musical endeavours and hope to see John and Susie back in College – often!
24