Biography
Looking to make a difference in the way classical music is consumed, Vocatio:Responsio is a project-based ensemble operating in the University of Oxford directed and founded by Merseyside-based violinist Samuel Oliver-Sherry, currently in the third year of his undergraduate music degree at St Anne's College.
The ensemble operates on intensive rehearsal weekends spread throughout the University of Oxford's term calendar, culminating in high-quality concerts that challenge the detached stigma of classical music performers in relation to their audiences.
As a performing ensemble, Vocatio:Responsio’s main emphasis is on devising unique and compelling programmes that invite audiences to engage with wider musicological discourse within the familiar context of a performance setting.
With its Latin name translating to mean 'Call:Response', the aim is to break the staunch barrier between performer and audience, creating an informal space for anyone to join in with musical discussion and immerse themselves as part of the concert experience.
Vocatio:Responsio are ultimately committed to making classical concerts accessible to all, while also encouraging its audiences to think critically about the music they're listening to, no matter their experience.
With cheap concert tickets (£5 for all), the ensemble believes that anyone should be able to enjoy and appreciate classical music, with the ensemble aiming to give that space to everyone in its audience.
Samuel Oliver-Sherry Originally from Liverpool, Samuel is currently into his third year reading music at St Anne's College, formerly studying violin with St Anne's alumna Dr Alberto Sanna. He was the concertmaster of the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (LPYO) throughout the 2022-23 season, working alongside professional conductors such as Robin Wallington and Andrew Manze, and was formerly involved with the Liverpool-based charity Early Music as Education (EMAE) since its inception in 2017, working both as an orchestral member in its flagship ensemble as well as a tutor in its Beginner and Intermediate programmes. Now, he is enjoying being a permanent member of the Early Music Youth Orchestra directed by Alberto, with whom he has been lucky to travel across Europe, especially Italy, to perform in concerts and television productions. In Oxford, he has enjoyed a plethora of musical opportunities, and has given much to the university’s music society: in 2024-25 he was the concertmaster of the Oxford University Philharmonia, where he led a student orchestra conducted by students, as well as holding a committee position as string fixer. A keen orchestral leader, he also makes regular appearances as the principal second violinist of Jude Holloway's Oxford Concert Orchestra, as well as being the concertmaster for the St Anne’s Camerata during the 2024-25 season, working primarily with director Dr John Traill (one of his degree supervisors) and the Adler String Quartet (the Hans Keller Quartet in Residence at the University of Oxford) as well as helping with some Oxford Conducting Institute workshops. When not playing violin, he is also a pianist, still studying with Tom Kimmance (who he has worked with for 14 years) working towards his ARSM diploma, and a self-guided organist that enjoys accompanying services at his local parish when home (invariably getting the notes right). Believe it or not, he even finds some time for hobbies in ‘normal life’: he is the proud "parent" of four beautiful border collies, who essentially control his and his mother’s life, but they probably wouldn’t want it any other way. Plus, he also has the misfortune of supporting Everton FC (that’s his father’s “guidance" for you), but so long as Liverpool keep losing at the alarming rate they are one imagines he'll be very happy (#COYB).
Programme
Programme
Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione, Op.8
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741)
Violin Concerto in E Major “Spring”, No.1
Violin Concerto in G Minor “Summer”, No.2
Violin Concerto in F Major “Autumn”, No.3
Violin Concerto in F Minor “Winter”, No.4
Soloist: Samuel Oliver-Sherry
Few works in classical music are as instantly recognisable or endlessly captivating as Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, four violin concertos in which each and every note is so well-known, so well-loved all across the world, yet its familiarity often hides just how radical and imaginative it truly is. While listening to this music, Vivaldi’s composition may speak vividly on its own, yet through the journey tracing a full year in sound, transforming nature into music, there is a sense that each moment is being gently framed, as if an unseen hand is guiding a hidden narrative that may be out of sight, but is always present, always speaking, its voice being the music.
In our first concert of 2026, Vocatio:Responsio warmly invites you to hear this masterpiece of eighteenth-century music through fresh ears, as we look forward to unearthing one of the greatest musical stories to stand the test of time.