The Ulster Orchestra, based in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

, is the only full-time professional orchestra in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

. The

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

plays the majority of its concerts in Belfast's

Ulster Hall The Ulster Hall is a concert hall and grade A listed building in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Situated on Bedford Street in Belfast city centre, the hall hosts concerts, classical recitals, craft fairs and political party conferences. History ...

and Waterfront Hall. It also gives concerts across the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, including performances at the Belfast Festival, the

BBC Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

, the Wexford Opera Festival, the

Kilkenny Arts Festival The Kilkenny Arts Festival, formally known as Kilkenny Arts Week, was founded in Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1974. It covers a number of art forms, including classical music and performance. Playwright and poet Seamus Heaney gave a reading of some ...

, and the National Concert Hall,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

. The orchestra currently employs 63 full-time musicians and 17 administrative support staff.

History

The orchestra was founded in 1966 by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, with Maurice Miles as its first principal conductor,

János Fürst János Fürst (8 August 1935 – 3 January 2007) was a Hungarian-born conductor and violinist. Biography Fürst originally studied the violin at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in his native Budapest. After the 1956 Soviet invasion of Hun ...

as its first leader, and Donald Froud as its first general manager. Fürst later became the orchestra's assistant conductor. The orchestra replaced the semi-professional City of Belfast Symphony Orchestra, which was subsequently disbanded. From 1966 the Ulster Orchestra consisted of 37 players and existed in this form until 1981, when the BBC Northern Ireland Orchestra (BBC NIO) was disbanded. The Ulster Orchestra Society Ltd was then established (a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity) with funding from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the BBC, Belfast City Council and Gallaher Ltd., and the size of the Orchestra was increased with to 55 players from the disbanded BBC NIO. Past Principal Conductors have included

Bryden Thomson Bryden Thomson (16 July 1928 – 14 November 1991) was a Scottish conductor remembered especially for his championship of British and Scandinavian composers. His recordings include influential surveys of the orchestral music of Hamilton Harty a ...

Vernon Handley Vernon George "Tod" Handley (11 November 1930 – 10 September 2008) was a British conductor (music), conductor, known in particular for his support of British composers. He was born of a Welsh people, Welsh father and an Irish people, Irish mo ...

Yan Pascal Tortelier Yan Pascal Tortelier (born 19 April 1947) is a French conductor and violinist. Biography Born in Paris, Tortelier is the son of the cellist Paul Tortelier, and the brother of Maria de la Pau. Tortelier began piano and violin studies at age 4. ...

Dmitry Sitkovetsky Dmitry Yulianovich Sitkovetsky (russian: Дмитрий Юлианович Ситковецкий; born September 27, 1954) is a Soviet- Russian born classical violinist, conductor and arranger, most notably of an arrangement for strings of J. S. ...

Thierry Fischer Thierry Fischer (born 28 September 1957) is a Swiss orchestra conductor and flutist. Early life and education Fischer was born in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (Zambia) to Swiss parents. He studied flute with Aurèle Nicolet and began h ...

, and Kenneth Montgomery. Handley also held the title of Conductor Laureate from 2003 until his death in 2008. Principal guest conductors of the orchestra have included Paul Watkins.

JoAnn Falletta JoAnn Falletta (born February 27, 1954 in Queens, New York) is an American conductor. Biography Falletta was raised in the borough of Queens in an Italian-American household. She was educated at the Mannes College of Music and The Juilliard S ...

was principal conductor of the orchestra from 2011 to 2014, the first American and the first female conductor to hold the post. In January 2014, the orchestra announced the appointment of Rafael Payare as its 13th chief conductor, effective with the 2014–2015 season. In October 2016, the orchestra announced the extension of Payare's contract through the 2018–2019 season, and also a change in his title from chief conductor to music director. In February 2018, the orchestra announced that Payare is to stand down as its music director at the close of the 2018–2019 season. In January 2019, the orchestra announced the appointment of

Daniele Rustioni Daniele Rustioni (born 1983) is an Italian conductor. Biography Rustioni was born in Milan, and studied piano, organ, and composition at the Milan Conservatory. He sang in the boys choir of the Teatro alla Scala in his youth. He studied cello f ...

as its next chief conductor, effective September 2019, following 3 prior appearances by Rustioni as guest conductor with the orchestra. In September 2022, the orchestra announced simultaneously the extension of Rustioni's contract to 2024 and the immediate elevation of his title to music director. Also in September 2022, the orchestra announced the appointment of Auveen Sands as its next chief executive, the first woman named to the post, effective at the end of October 2022, in succession to Richard Wigley. Past Associate Composers with the orchestra have included Brian Irvine, and the current Associate Composer is Ian Wilson. Past chief executive officers of the orchestra have included David Byers, who was named as interim chief executive in June 2002, and was formally named to the position in March 2003, initially for a 5-year contract. He retired from the post in September 2010, after which Dick Mackenzie became interim chief executive. Declan McGovern was chief executive on secondment from the BBC between January 2011 and March 2012. Ed Smith was interim chief executive between July and December 2012. Rosa Solinas was chief executive between February 2013 and March 2014. The orchestra has made commercial recordings for such labels as Chandos,

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...

and

Toccata Classics Toccata Classics is an independent British classic music label founded in 2005. The founder of Toccata Classics is Martin Anderson, a music journalist. The label was founded primarily to promote unrecorded works by lesser-known composers, inc ...

Funding

The Ulster Orchestra Society Ltd receives core funding from the

Arts Council of Northern Ireland The Arts Council of Northern Ireland (Irish: ''Comhairle Ealaíon Thuaisceart Éireann'', Ulster-Scots: ''Airts Cooncil o Norlin Airlan'') is the lead development agency for the arts in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1964, as a successor to ...

and

Belfast City Council Belfast City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhéal Feirste) is the local authority with responsibility for part of the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of (), the ...

. Through an agreement with the BBC, the UOS receives significant payments for a specified number of broadcast recordings (an essential and vital part of the funding equation). The BBC maintains exclusive distribution rights over the performances which it records. These are broadcast locally on

Radio Ulster BBC Radio Ulster ( ga, BBC Raidió Uladh) is a Northern Irish radio station owned and operated by BBC Northern Ireland, a division of the BBC. It was established on New Year's Day 1975, replacing what had been an opt-out of BBC Radio 4. It is ...

, and nationally on

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also featuring. The sta ...

. Further funding comes from Lottery awards for Audience Development and New Works, from local councils for concerts and education work, from the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure for capital works and touring, and from a number of Trusts and Foundations for specific projects for staffing. Other key sources of income include Box Office receipts, programme sales and advertising, corporate sponsors (including additional funding from Arts and Business), Friends' subscriptions, Gift Aid and private philanthropic donations, including legacies. The orchestra's annual turnover in 2001/02 was in excess of £3.4 million. Byers has guided the orchestra through recent financial issues, including the increase of a grant from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland from GB £1.34 million (2002) to £1.69 million (2003) and to £2.05 million (2008). In October 2014, it was reported that the orchestra could be forced to close, having lost 28% of its public funding. Belfast City Council has been asked to back a rescue plan which includes a £500,000 funding guarantee and free use of the

. On 23 November 2014, the orchestra held a flash mob in St George's market to raise awareness of their funding problem and to ask for support. In late November, Belfast City Council offered £100,000 as a conditional pledge to the orchestra, if additional funding can be raised from other sources and the orchestra offers a plan for addressing a projected 2015 deficit of £850,000.

Education and community outreach

The Ulster Orchestra undertakes a number of outreach projects, including workshops in schools throughout Northern Ireland, pre-concert talks and instrument master-classes. The Orchestra received the Royal Philharmonic Society's first award for an education project (in West Belfast). Recent major cross-community projects involving Belfast schools in areas of social deprivation have included ''Gulliver'' in 2005, ''A Marvellous Medicine'' in 2007 and ''The Pied Piper'' in 2009. Brian Irvine, then the Orchestra's Associate Composer, composed the music for these last two projects. ''The Pied Piper'' project was awarded the Inspire Mark of the 2012 London Cultural Olympiad.

Principal Conductors

Maurice Miles Maurice Miles (190826 June 1985) was an English conductor known for championing the music of twentieth century British composers. Biography Early life and studies Miles was educated at Wells Cathedral School and won a scholarship to the Royal ...

(1966–1967) * Sergiu Comissiona (1967–1969) * Edgar Cosma (1969–1974) *

Alun Francis Alun Francis (born 29 September 1943) is a Welsh conductor. Career Francis was the principal conductor of the Ulster Orchestra from 1966 for ten years. In 1978 he conducted the premiere of Donizetti's opera '' Gabriella di Vergy'' in the Qu ...

(1974–1976) *

(1977–1985) *

(1985–1989) *

(1989–1992) * En Shao (1992–1995) *

(1996–2001) *

(2001–2006) * Kenneth Montgomery (2007–2010) *

(2011–2014) * Rafael Payare (2014–2019) *

(2019–present)

Commissions

Through its BBC work and/or with help from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland Lottery Fund, there have been many commissions for composers in Ireland and Northern Ireland, including Greg Caffrey,

Ciarán Farrell Ciarán Farrell (born 1969, Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish composer who has been active in his field since graduating from Trinity College Dublin in 1997. He has composed works for orchestra, ensemble, choir, and solo instruments, as well as for ...

, Elaine Agnew, Gerald Barry, Michael McGlynn, Derek Bell, David Byers, Bill Campbell, Donnacha Dennehy, Stephen Gardner, Deirdre Gribbin, Philip Hammond, Piers Hellawell, Rachel Holstead, Marion Ingoldsby, Brian Irvine, Frank Lloyd, Neil Martin, Kevin O'Connell, Ian Wilson and Paul Wilson. Commissioned GB composers include Mark Bowden, Edward McGuire, Stephen McNeff,

John Tavener Sir John Kenneth Tavener (28 January 1944 – 12 November 2013) was an English composer, known for his extensive output of choral religious works. Among his best known works are '' The Lamb'' (1982), ''The Protecting Veil'' (1988), and '' Song ...

, Adrian Thomas and

Malcolm Williamson Malcolm Benjamin Graham Christopher Williamson, (21 November 19312 March 2003) was an Australian composer. He was the Master of the Queen's Music from 1975 until his death. Biography Williamson was born in Sydney in 1931; his father was an A ...

. Commissioned composers from outside the UK and Ireland include Lyell Cresswell,

Rodion Shchedrin Rodion Konstantinovich Shchedrin ( rus, Родион Константинович Щедрин, , rədʲɪˈon kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ ɕːɪˈdrʲin; born 16 December 1932) is a Soviet and Russian composer and pianist, winner of USSR State ...

Pawel Szymanski Pavel ( Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian and Macedonian: Павел, Czech, Slovene, Romanian: Pavel, Polish: Paweł, Ukrainian: Павло, Pavlo) is a male given name. It is a Slavic cognate of the name Paul (derived from the Greek Pavlos). Pav ...

and

Kevin Volans Kevin Volans (born 26 July 1949) is a South African born Irish composer and pianist. He studied with Karlheinz Stockhausen and Mauricio Kagel in Cologne in the 1970s and later became associated with the ''Neue Einfacheit'' (New Simplicity) mov ...

References

External links

Ulster Orchestra official website

A History of the Ulster Orchestra (in progress)
{{Authority control

Orchestras British symphony orchestras Musical groups established in 1966 Musical groups from Belfast Radio and television orchestras 1966 establishments in Northern Ireland