Renowned Catholic composer to lecture on “music and the sacred in antiquity and modernity”
One of the world’s foremost composers, and Fellow of Blackfriars Hall Oxford, will speak at Oxford’s Sheldonian Theatre on Monday, 28 October 5pm – 6:30pm
In the third Oakeshott (formerly Scruton) Lecture of 2024, world-renowned composer and conductor Sir James MacMillan will speak about music and the idea of the sacred, contrasting antiquity with the modern world, reflecting on the relationship between faith and the arts. Following his lecture, Macmillan will be joined on stage by the composer and Prior of Blackfriars, Fr Dominic White OP, for a discussion.
Sir James MacMillan is classical composer and conductor. Born and raised in Ayrshire, he studied at Edinburgh and Durham, before returning to Scotland as an associate composer of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. He established his reputation with The Confession of Isobel Gowldie, which premiered with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in 1990. Since then he has enjoyed prolific success, including his second opera, The Sacrifice (2007), the St John Passion (2008), and Veni, Veni, Emmanuel (1992), his most performed work.
Fr Dominic White OP is a composer, organist, and pianist. He was elected Prior of Blackfriars in 2024.