Student Fellowship Programme: 2025/26 Recap

The end of the 2025/26 season gives the OPO a chance to reflect on the many exciting developments that we make year on year. Something we are particularly proud of is the first year of our Student Fellowships in Orchestral Practice, which this year gave some incredible experience to four talented young musicians: Zofia Olesik (violin), Alexander Buckley (clarinet), Tommaso Rusconi (horn), and Deniz Şensoy (violin).

Student fellows join the OPO for around twenty concerts a season. This year, fellows toured Cyprus with Maxim Vengerov, performed alongside Martha Argerich and took up their orchestral post on the stage of the Barbican.

One of the notable moments throughout this season was Deniz Şensoy sitting side-by-side at the leader’s desk with Rainer Küchl, who brings 40 years as concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic and Vienna State Opera (read more here).

Another was a masterclass with Anne-Sophie Mutter, taking place in the Oxford Union, in which Zofia Olesik was offered a full scholarship to join the prestigious Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation. Opportunities like these can be life-changing.

The Student Fellowship Programme is part of the OPO’s wider Academy Programme. Through schemes like these, we offer training from the junior to the professional level.

Classical music is a highly competitive field. The knowledge OPO musicians can impart and the opportunities the Orchestra can provide are paramount for students as they develop the necessary skills of a modern orchestral professional.

To learn more about the Student Fellowship Programme and our other Academy Programme initiatives, please click here.

Cover photo by Nicholas Posner

Watch this space for more Oxford Philharmonic Community & Outreach programme updates!