Ulster Orchestra
Issue Date: 1st February 2009
The Ulster Orchestra was formed in 1966 and it has established itself as one of the major symphony orchestras in the UK. Its main concert season takes place in the Ulster Hall (newly re-opened after its major refurbishment) and the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, and it is a lynch-pin of the Belfast Festival at Queen’s. It has accompanied many opera and ballet productions at Belfast’s Grand Opera House.
The Ulster Orchestra gives concerts in centres across Northern Ireland and has established a regular series at the National Concert Hall in Dublin. It has a major programme of education and outreach work, recognised a few years ago by an award from the Royal Philharmonic Society and this year by the Inspire Mark of the Cultural Olympiad. Last year the Orchestra was awarded the prestigious Arts & Business Arts Award in recognition of its professionalism and creativity in the management and development of its business relationships. In January 2009 it received two further A&B Awards for its work with young people and with business employees.
Kenneth Montgomery is the Orchestra’s Principal Conductor and he succeeded Thierry Fischer and a list of distinguished artists who have previously held the post, including Bryden Thomson, Vernon Handley and Yan Pascal Tortelier. Brian Irvine is the Orchestra’s Associate Composer.
The Ulster Orchestra has made some 70 recordings, notably for Chandos, Naxos, BMG, Hyperion, Priory and Toccata Classics. The Orchestra has a unique relationship with the BBC as its exclusive broadcast partner with relays on BBC Radio 3, Radio Ulster and BBC TV. The mix of commercial recordings and streamed internet broadcasts has considerably enhanced the Orchestra’s international reputation.
Tours of Europe, Asia, and the USA have added to this reputation. In 2001 the Ulster Orchestra travelled to New York to launch the UKwithNY Festival, and that same month toured the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia.
The Orchestra’s main funding partners include the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Belfast City Council.