Oxford Festival of the arts has a long tradition of bringing unique and prestigious performances to Oxford. Founded and supported by Magdalen college school, it gives an unique opportunity to Oxford residents to access and enjoy not only beautiful School grounds and Rose garden, situated on left-hand side of Magdalen bridge, but to get insight to high quality productions and performances led by talented school students and staff.

But where do I start with describing the 2024’s edition of Oxford Festival of the arts? This year the Festival started early, and treated Oxford audience with exciting visual arts events from April. Oxfordshire sculptor Johannes Von Stumm opened his solo exhibitions in cloisters of New College. I have been following Von Stumm's work for some time and was excited to finally see his contemporary sculptures in person. Von Stumm's sculptures are impressive craftsmanship, combining glass, concrete, wood and other materials in a way that defies science and fits perfectly into the architecture of New College.

The second exhibition that caught my eye in May was a long overdue tribute to the Oxford artist Paul Nash. The exhibition was a rare opportunity to see Nash's works, photographs, personal items and letters that are not usually available to the public. Held in the intimate Art Gallery at Pembroke College, the exhibition followed a series of talks and events exploring the history of Oxford in the Second World War and the relationship between art and war.

However, the variety of music events is my favourite part of the Oxford Festival of the Arts. Not only did we have the English National Opera Orchestra with tenor Nicky Spence on 27 June, a phenomenal performance by Dame Sarah Connolly at SJE Arts on 5 July and a jazz evening with Ronnie Scott's All Stars on 12 July featuring Michael Varekamp, but the Festival brought a variety of Oxford musicians to the Festival Hub in the evenings. The beautiful Rose Garden hosted free gigs by KLAARA, Spiralites and an open mic by Lee Boo, showcasing Oxford's best young musicians.

Finally, the most impressionable performance of the festival for me was at the Divinity schools on 10th of July, when Guy Johnston performed the complete Bach Cello suites. This delicate and intimate performance in Divinity schools felt like a dream, tucked away from crowds, just an emotional performance and acoustics of beautiful medieval architecture.