Sunday Main Concert
Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary
JEAN-FÉRY REBEL
Les élémens
KAIJA SAARIAHO
Nuits, Adieux
SVEN-DAVID SANDSTRÖM
Hear My Prayer, O Lord (After Henry Purcell)
J.S. BACH
Cantata No. 214
ABOUT
Our pre-concert lectures are presented on Saturdays (except closing night), Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays at Sunset Center on the Upper Terrace throughout the festival. Pre-Concert Talks enhance the enjoyment of a concert by providing a deeper understanding of the works on the program and relating stories that led to the music’s creation, as well as how the music relates to our time.
MEET THE 2025 LECTURERS
Andrew Oster
Andrew Oster has a Ph.D. in musicology from Princeton University and degrees in History and Music from Davidson College. He also studied musicology at the Bayerische Julius-Maximilians-Universität in Würzburg, Germany. His dissertation on opera and radio in post-WWII occupied Germany was supported by the American Musicological Society, and he has published on the topics of opera, music and politics, and disability studies. He is an avid collector of classical music CDs and LPs, specializing in historical recordings from the mid twentieth century. Oster currently teaches French at Santa Catalina School and has previously taught music history and writing at Haverford College and Princeton University.
Karen Hiles
Karen Hiles holds a Ph.D. in historical musicology from Columbia University, an M.F.A. in musicology from Brandeis University, and a B.A. in English Literature and Music from Swarthmore College. Her dissertation explored musical life in Joseph Haydn's Vienna, and was awarded research fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies, the Whiting Foundation, and the American Musicological Society. She has previously held positions as Assistant Professor of Music at Muhlenberg College and Visiting Scholar at the UC Davis Humanities Institute. She is currently on the English faculty at Stevenson School in Pebble Beach, where she won the McNeely Award for Outstanding Teaching in 2020.Â
Jos Milton
American tenor Jos Milton maintains a robust musical schedule, equally balancing his roles of well-rounded performer and respected pedagogue. Growing up in Houston, Texas, Jos’ passion for music emerged early in his childhood, thanks to the close mentorship of a wonderful piano teacher. Active participation in high school choirs eventually led to music studies at Trinity University, followed by advanced degrees at the University of Massachusetts (MM) and the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University (DMA).
He is committed to the exploration and performance of new music, and strives to bring public awareness to lesser-known works for voice. Dr. Milton is an Associate Professor of Music at the University of Mississippi, where he teaches private voice and various courses in vocal literature. When not singing or teaching, Jos enjoys spending time in his Oxford home with his wife and son.