St Peter's supports a vibrant and wide ranging musical community.
The College Music Society operates under the general oversight and chairmanship of the Tutor in Music but students hold all other offices; musical activity is thus staff supported but very definitely student led. There are usually twelve undergraduates reading music at any one time.
The music students naturally tend to provide the main thrust of the musical energy but activity is by no means restricted to this group and it is welcome feature of college life that music extends across the disciplines.
In recent years there has been a bassoonist reading Geography, a horn player also reading Geography and a clarinetist from Slovenia reading Chemistry amongst the College’s top instrumentalists.
St Peter’s also has a strong Jazz tradition with two recent music students specialising in Jazz. The college is pleased to host the weekly rehearsal of the Oxford University Jazz Orchestra.
Many of the College’s instrumentalists hold scholarships made available through the generosity of old members. These range in value from £100 -£400 and are awarded to matriculated members of the College after competitive audition. This strong tradition of instrumental music is apparent in the number of St Peter’s students who play in the University orchestras.
The core of the musical activity is a fortnightly series of student recitals during full term on a Thursday evening before Hall. The Music Society Committee arranges additional recitals together with large scale orchestral and orchestral concerts as appropriate. Musical activity in the College is strongly supported by old members and major musical events usually draw large and eclectic audiences.
The College is fortunate in that there are two large and versatile performing spaces within the main site. In addition to the Father Willis organ the spacious Chapel contains a fine collection of instruments: a vintage grand piano by Blüthner (1906), a modern upright piano by Welmar and a single manual harpsichord by Robert Goble (1986). The generous acoustic makes this an ideal space for musical events ranging from solo recitals to large-scale concerts.
The Music Room contains a second recently restored Blüthner grand piano and provides a versatile space for small scale recitals, rehearsals, teaching or private practice.