The centenary of the birth of Benjamin Britten falls in 2013 and a group of Oxford musicians is already making plans to mark the event. They want Oxford to have a year-long festival of linked activities celebrating the composer’s life and work.

The project has the working title Britten in Oxford and the organisers are keen to hear from groups who would like to perform, to organise educational activities, or who have other ideas to contribute.

The festival is the brainchild of Nick Cleobury, well known locally as conductor of the Oxford Bach Choir.

“We hope to develop into an umbrella organisation for 2013 Britten performances and projects,” Nick told me. “Obviously there is the music but there is so much more that can be done beyond programming his works. If we can bring together performances, talks, lectures, open days, exhibitions, we could make a unique contribution to his centenary celebrations.”

Nick has long been a champion of Britten’s music. He worked a number of times with Peter Pears, gave the premiere of Britten’s Rescue of Penelope at the Snape Maltings with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and has made many appearances at the Aldeburgh Festival.

He is founder and conductor laureate of the Britten Sinfonia.

“At this stage we want to reach as many performing, promoting and educational organisations as possible, judge their reactions and develop the project accordingly.

“We don’t want to be interfering or prescriptive. We’re simply aiming at offering a coherent, balanced programme for the year.”

Baritone Giles Underwood is one of the Oxford-based musicians Nick consulted early on about the concept. Giles, along with the tenor Dan Norman, became a founding member of Britten in Oxford as the scope of the project grew.

Giles has extensive teaching commitments across the university and plans to involve his students in performances of Britten’s folksong settings.

“We’ll probably do a series of concerts,” he told me. “There are 61 folk songs and I would like to do all of them. Other Britten songs will be performed too. We hope to be able to work with the Oxford Lieder Festival, and to attract professional singers to perform.”

The steering group is already talking with the city’s music organisations and artists but is keen to reach out to as many groups as possible.

There is discussion of a composition prize, talks by people who worked with Britten, study days linked to performances of specific works, lectures on the literary sources he used, performances of composers like Schubert and Mahler who Britten loved, a concert of his arrangements of Purcell. Some of the operas and perhaps the Children’s Crusade might be performed. The Bach Choir is planning a War Requiem.

Oxfordshire County Music Service is already involved. They are considering putting on two performances of Noye’s Fludde with the participation of local primary schools. The county youth orchestra will also contribute to the festival.

“We’re trying to reach out to as wide a community as possible,” Giles said. “We want to get into schools, to get educational projects up and running. If this ends up just being for people who normally go to concerts we won’t have fulfilled our ambitions. It needs to be much bigger than that.”

lIf you are interested in being part of Britten in Oxford contact info@britteninoxford.co.uk