New directions in the study of written artefacts from Antiquity to the late Middle Ages.
A colloquium organised by the Crafting Documents project (AHRC-DFG) and co-sponsored by the Centre for Manuscripts and Text Cultures.
The Queen’s College Symposium (QCS) is designed for convivial conversation: it is informal, aimed at a non-specialist audience and open to all members of the College. It is a celebration of the rich academic culture of the Queen’s College. The theme of this term’s Symposium is ‘On Concepts’. We are broadly interested in how the different disciplines think about and use concepts.
The talk titles for the 4th are:
Prof Mark Buckley (SCR): “Beyond Neural Correlates of Concepts”
Martin Buttenschoen (MCR): “The Concept of Structure-based Drug Discovery”
Prof Roberta Mazza (Bologna)
Roberta Mazza is a papyrologist based in the Department of Cultural Heritage, Bologna, where she works on the ethics of the illegal trade in papyri and other cultural artefacts. Her book, Stolen Fragments: Black Markets, Bad Faith, and the Illicit Trade in Ancient Artefacts (Stanford, 2024), won a silver medal in the 2025 Independent Publisher Book Awards.
In partnership with CMTC, Prof Julia Smith is convening a two-day colloquium:
Heritage Science and Manuscripts from Antiquity to the Middle Ages: new directions in the study of written artefacts
Julia Doyle soprano
Esther Lay mezzo-soprano
Guy Cutting tenor
Choir of The Queen’s College, Oxford
Academy of Ancient Music
Owen Rees director
Handel’s Messiah lies at the very heart of Christmas musical festivities. The oratorio follows Christ’s life from the prophecies of the Old Testament through to his birth, passion and resurrection, and the final conquest of sin with the promise of eternal life. Handel uses his consummate skill as an opera composer to inject vivid colour and intense drama into his score. First heard in 1741, it remains just as popular today as it did in Dublin nearly 300 years ago. Arias of mesmerising beauty and triumphant courage sit alongside virtuoso choruses of stunning power – including the famous ‘Hallelujah Chorus’.
This concert continues the acclaimed collaboration between the Choir of The Queen’s College, Oxford and the world famous Academy of Ancient Music, a combination of the finest choral singing and an orchestra with a worldwide reputation for excellence in baroque and classical music. Previous performances of Messiah in this collaboration, also with star-studded line-ups of soloists, have sold out months before the event and early booking is advised.
Choir and orchestra are conducted by Owen Rees, Director of Music at The Queen’s College, hailed as ‘one of the most energetic and persuasive voices’ in this field.