Ulster Orchestra
Encyclopedia
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
based in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, the only full-time professional orchestra in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. The orchestra plays the majority of its concerts in Belfast's Ulster Hall
Ulster Hall
The Ulster Hall is a concert hall and grade B1 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...
and Waterfront Hall
Waterfront Hall
The Waterfront Hall is a multi-purpose facility, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, designed by local architects' firm Robinson McIlwaine. Practice partner Peter McGukin was the project architect....
. It gives concerts across Northern Ireland, including performances at the Belfast Festival, the Wexford Opera Festival, the Kilkenny Arts Festival, and the National Concert Hall, Dublin. Since 1985, the Orchestra has been a regular visitor to The Proms
The Proms
The Proms, more formally known as The BBC Proms, or 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 Hall in London...
. 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 and with János FürstJános Fürst
János Fürst was a Hungarian-born conductor and violinist.János Fürst originally studied the violin at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in his native Budapest. After the 1956 Soviet invasion of Hungary, he continued studies at the conservatory in Brussels. He attended the Conservatoire de Paris...
as its first concertmaster/leader. Fürst later became the orchestra's assistant conductor. The Orchestra has existed in its present form since 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 players from the disbanded BBC NIO.
Past Principal Conductors have included Bryden Thomson
Bryden Thomson
Bryden Thomson was a Scottish conductor.Bryden Thomson was born in Ayr. He led several British orchestras, including the BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra and the Ulster Orchestra from 1977 to 1985...
, Vernon Handley
Vernon Handley
Vernon George "Tod" Handley CBE was a British conductor, known in particular for his support of British composers. He was born of a Welsh father and an Irish mother into a musical family in Enfield, London. He acquired the nickname "Tod" because his feet were turned in at his birth, which his...
, Yan Pascal Tortelier
Yan Pascal Tortelier
Yan Pascal Tortelier is an internationally renowned French conductor and violinist and is the son of the late cellist Paul Tortelier.-Biography:...
, Dmitry Sitkovetsky
Dmitry Sitkovetsky
Dmitry Sitkovetsky is a Russian violinist and conductor.- Early life :Dmitry Sitkovetsky was born in Baku, Azerbaijan, to violinist Julian Sitkovetsky and pianist Bella Davidovich. His father died in 1958, when Sitkovetsky was just three years old and the family moved to Moscow where Dmitry...
, Thierry Fischer
Thierry Fischer
Thierry Fischer is a Swiss orchestra conductor and flutist.Fischer studied flute with Aurèle Nicolet and began his musical career as Principal Flute in Hamburg and at the Zurich Opera, where he studied scores with Nikolaus Harnoncourt...
, and Kenneth Montgomery
Kenneth Montgomery
Kenneth Montgomery OBE is a British conductor, the only child of Lily and Tom Montgomery. His upbringing was in Wandsworth Parade and he attended the Royal Belfast Academical Institution. His musical studies were at the Royal College of Music...
. Handley also held the title of Conductor Laureate from 2003 until his death in 2008. Since the 2009-2010 season, the orchestra's principal guest conductor is Paul Watkins. In May 2011, the orchestra appointed JoAnn Falletta
JoAnn Falletta
JoAnn Falletta is an American classical musician and orchestral conductor.Falletta was educated at the Mannes College of Music and The Juilliard School in New York City...
as its next principal conductor, effective with the 2011-2012 season, with an initial contract of 3 years. She is the first American and the first female conductor to be appointed the orchestra's principal conductor.
Past Associate Composers with the orchestra have included Brian Irvine, and the current Associate Composer is Ian Wilson
Ian Wilson (composer)
Ian Wilson is a prolific, award-winning Irish composer of classical music. He also served as the music director of the Sligo New Music Festival from 2003 to 2011....
. 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. The orchestra's current chief executive is Declan McGovern.
The orchestra has made commercial recordings for such labels as Chandos, Naxos Records
Naxos Records
Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...
and Toccata Classics.
Funding
The Ulster Orchestra Society Ltd receives core funding from the Arts Council of Northern IrelandArts Council of Northern Ireland
The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is the lead development agency for the arts in Northern Ireland....
and Belfast City Council
Belfast City Council
Belfast City Council is the local authority with responsibility for the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of , the largest of any district council in Northern Ireland, while also being the fourth smallest by area...
. Through an agreement with the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, the UOS receives significant payments for a specified number of broadcast recordings (an essential and vital part of the funding equation). The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
maintains exclusive distribution rights over the performances which it records. These are broadcast locally on Radio Ulster, and nationally on BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
.
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).
Education and community outreach
The Ulster Orchestra undertakes a wide range 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 (1966–1967)
- Sergiu ComissionaSergiu ComissionaSergiu Comissiona was a Romanian conductor and violinist.-Early life:...
(1967–1969) - Edgar Cosma (1969–1974)
- Alun FrancisAlun FrancisAlun Francis is a Welsh conductor.-Professional career:Francis was the principal conductor of the Ulster Orchestra from 1966 for ten years...
(1974–1976) - Bryden ThomsonBryden ThomsonBryden Thomson was a Scottish conductor.Bryden Thomson was born in Ayr. He led several British orchestras, including the BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra and the Ulster Orchestra from 1977 to 1985...
(1977–1985) - Vernon HandleyVernon HandleyVernon George "Tod" Handley CBE was a British conductor, known in particular for his support of British composers. He was born of a Welsh father and an Irish mother into a musical family in Enfield, London. He acquired the nickname "Tod" because his feet were turned in at his birth, which his...
(1985–1989) - Yan Pascal TortelierYan Pascal TortelierYan Pascal Tortelier is an internationally renowned French conductor and violinist and is the son of the late cellist Paul Tortelier.-Biography:...
(1989–1992) - En Shao (1992–1995)
- Dmitry SitkovetskyDmitry SitkovetskyDmitry Sitkovetsky is a Russian violinist and conductor.- Early life :Dmitry Sitkovetsky was born in Baku, Azerbaijan, to violinist Julian Sitkovetsky and pianist Bella Davidovich. His father died in 1958, when Sitkovetsky was just three years old and the family moved to Moscow where Dmitry...
(1996–2001) - Thierry FischerThierry FischerThierry Fischer is a Swiss orchestra conductor and flutist.Fischer studied flute with Aurèle Nicolet and began his musical career as Principal Flute in Hamburg and at the Zurich Opera, where he studied scores with Nikolaus Harnoncourt...
(2001–2006) - Kenneth MontgomeryKenneth MontgomeryKenneth Montgomery OBE is a British conductor, the only child of Lily and Tom Montgomery. His upbringing was in Wandsworth Parade and he attended the Royal Belfast Academical Institution. His musical studies were at the Royal College of Music...
(2007–2010) - JoAnn FallettaJoAnn FallettaJoAnn Falletta is an American classical musician and orchestral conductor.Falletta was educated at the Mannes College of Music and The Juilliard School in New York City...
(designate, as of 2011)
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 Ciaran FarrellCiarán Farrell
Ciarán Farrell is an Irish composer who has been active in his field since graduating from Trinity College Dublin in 1997...
, Elaine Agnew, Gerald Barry, Michael McGlynn
Michael McGlynn
Michael McGlynn is an Irish composer, producer, director and founder of Anúna, Ireland's National Choir.-Career:...
, Derek Bell
Derek Bell (musician)
George Derek Fleetwood Bell, MBE was an Northern Irish harpist, pianist, oboist, musicologist, and composer, best known for his accompaniment work on various instruments with The Chieftains....
, David Byers, Bill Campbell, Donnacha Dennehy
Donnacha Dennehy
,Donnacha Dennehy is a composer, born in Dublin in 1970. He gained his secondary education in Templeogue College, Dublin. He studied Music at Trinity College, Dublin and later pursued graduate studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign...
, Stephen Gardner, Deirdre Gribbin, Philip Hammond, Piers Hellawell, Rachel Holstead, Marion Ingoldsby, Brian Irvine, Frank Lloyd, Neil Martin, Kevin O'Connell, Ian Wilson
Ian Wilson
Ian Wilson may refer to:* Ian Wilson , Australian politician* Ian Wilson , Irish composer* Ian Wilson , English cinematographer...
and Paul Wilson.
Commissioned GB composers include Mark Bowden, Edward McGuire
Edward McGuire
Edward McGuire may refer to:* Eddie McGuire, Australian television personality* Edward McGuire , Irish artist* Edward McGuire , British composer* Edward McGuire , Irish tennis player from the 1920s...
, Stephen McNeff, John Tavener
John Tavener
Sir John Tavener is a British composer, best known for such religious, minimal works as "The Whale", and "Funeral Ikos"...
, Adrian Thomas and Malcolm Williamson
Malcolm Williamson
Malcolm Benjamin Graham Christopher Williamson AO , CBE was an Australian composer. He was the Master of the Queen's Music from 1975 until his death.-Biography:...
. Commissioned composers from outside the UK and Ireland include Lyell Cresswell, Rodion Shchedrin
Rodion Shchedrin
Rodion Konstantinovich Shchedrin is a Russian composer. He was one оf the leading Soviet composers, and was the chairman of the Union of Russian Composers from 1973 until 1990.-Life and Works:...
, Pawel Szymanski
Pawel Szymanski
Paweł Szymański is a Polish composer. His music is based on strict technical discipline and the initial sound material of Szymański’s pieces has roots in past conventions but is always processed and composed from the beginning...
and Kevin Volans
Kevin Volans
Kevin Volans is a composer associated with the post-minimalist movement in contemporary composition. He was born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa on July 6, 1949, and even though he has spent most of his life outside his native country, is the best known South African composer active today.In...
.