Author: Ulster Orchestra

Kingsbridge announced as key sponsor for Ulster Orchestra Schools Concerts

Kingsbridge Foundation will support the Ulster Orchestra’s Schools Concerts to reach 4,000 pupils across Northern Ireland
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Legacy Wealth Management encourage Orchestra supporters to create a lasting legacy through music

Alex Price from Legacy Wealth Management spoke to our patrons and subscribers.
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Ulster Orchestra and Legacy Wealth Management partner in new legacy campaign

The campaign aims to inspire people to leave a gift in their will to the Orchestra.
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BBC Proms: What is The Shipping Forecast?

Forties… Cromarty… Forth… Tyne. What does it all mean?
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UO Playback: Summer Proms, 1971

The Orchestra take a trip around Northern Ireland with a series of summer concerts.
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Cartoon figures hold protest signs with phrases like “DOWN WITH STANDING UP,” “MUSIC POWER,” “ANTI PROMS,” and “stand up for your rights—to SIT DOWN” on an orange background, capturing the rebellious spirit of 1969 and UO Playback.

UO Playback: The ‘Anti-Proms’, 1969

What do you call a Prom concert where you don’t stand up?
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Principal Guest Artist Michael Collins stands and smiles on stage as Ulster Orchestra musicians in the background applaud.

Ulster Orchestra Welcomes Michael Collins as Principal Guest Artist

The role will see Michael Collins undertake a range of projects with the Orchestra over the next three seasons.
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Collage of a conductor, a woman playing saxophone, a woman with a guitar, a silhouette with an arm raised, and an animated blue dog character on a purple background.

Every Note Tells a Story in our new concert season

Tickets for our 2025/26 concerts are now available to buy.
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Audience seated in a large church with high ceilings and arched windows, watching the Ulster Orchestra’s performance and a projected image at the front altar area during a Townsend Community event.

Ulster Orchestra at Townsend Community Information Session

Visit our Townsend Street home and hear about our plans for its future.
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A large Expanded Orchestra rehearses in a studio, with musicians playing string instruments and timpani visible in the foreground. Sheet music stands are positioned throughout the group for this 1981 UO Playback session.

UO Playback: An Expanded Orchestra, 1981

An important milestone in the history of a growing orchestra.
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A black-and-white portrait of a serious man resting his chin on his hand, overlaid with green geometric shapes, evokes the intensity of Rachmaninoff's Second Symphony—a true love letter in sound.

Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony: a love letter in sound

Rachmaninoff’s second symphony stands as both a musical triumph and a symbol of resilience, born from personal recovery, psychological transformation, and the enduring power of creative renewal after rejection and despair.
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A symphony orchestra performs on stage in the grand, ornate Golden Hall of the Musikverein, with an audience seated in front and people watching from balconies, evoking the elegance of a 1986 concert night.

UO Playback: In the Golden Hall of the Musikverein, 1986

Passports at the ready: for April’s edition of UO Playback, join us for a whistlestop trip across Europe.
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A large stone church with arched windows, two towers, and three wooden doors, viewed from the street with parked cars in front on a clear day, stands near where the Ulster Orchestra once received Foyle Foundation funding.

Foyle Foundation announces £1M of funding to create Ulster Orchestra’s first permanent home

Ulster Orchestra at Townsend will provide a much-needed home for the Orchestra, including a rehearsal and event space, a music learning and community engagement hub, a dedicated recording studio and more.
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A brick building wall with yellow graffiti reading "NO DEMOLITION BEYOND THIS POINT" and a yellow arrow pointing right, creating a striking scene that feels like a bold celebration of boundaries.

A Sound Links Celebration

Join us to celebrate the work already done with the local community and engage with our ongoing aims of preserving the heritage and helping develop the future of the area.
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A man with curly hair and glasses sits at a table, looking thoughtfully out of a window in a dimly lit room, perhaps reflecting on Christoph Altstaedt’s recent Ulster Orchestra Good Friday concert.

Christoph Altstaedt reflects on the Ulster Orchestra Good Friday concert

The German conductor joins us on Friday 18 April with soloists and chorus from Northern Ireland Opera.
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The sun sets behind a mountain ridge, casting rays of light over a landscape with distant mountains under a clear sky—a tranquil scene inviting reflection, reminiscent of Haydn’s contemplative Seven Last Words.

Haydn’s ‘Seven Last Words’: music made for reflection

While Haydn’s Seven Last Words of Christ is rooted in religion, it has something to say to everyone, regardless of belief.
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An illustration of Babar, the elephant, in a blue uniform and hat, sitting on a stool and playing a trumpet with his trunk—reminiscent of a whimsical 1971 Belfast parade.

UO Playback: Babar in Belfast, 1971

For our March edition of UO Playback, we bring you a colourful concert poster which might just stir up some childhood memories.
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A stylized illustration of a person in a traditional costume with puffy sleeves, a red sash, patterned skirt, and dark shoes, shown from the back with one arm raised—evoking the vibrant spirit of Manuel de Falla’s music.

Ulster Orchestra’s Manuel de Falla recording receives praise from Gramophone and BBC Music Magazine

The album is available to stream or buy now
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A conductor, reminiscent of Sergiu Comissiona in 1969, leads an orchestra and choir during a rehearsal in a concert hall. Musicians with instruments and choir members are seated on tiered benches behind them for a UO Playback session.

UO Playback: Sergiu Comissiona, 1969

The Ulster Orchestra’s second Chief Conductor rehearses Brahms in the Ulster Hall.
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Five people stand in an empty concert hall; one is dressed as a witch holding a broom, while another holds a violin.

Ulster Orchestra partners with local companies for a special night of musical magic

Legacy Wealth Management and Brown & Brown are sponsoring the Ulster Orchestra’s Essentially Broadway concert.
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A sketch of Waterfront Hall, the large round building with many windows and a domed roof, featuring a person playing a double bass in the foreground near a fence—echoing its musical spirit since 1997.

UO Playback: The Opening of the Waterfront Hall, 1997

This month we look back to 1997, where the Ulster Orchestra performed at the gala opening concert of the Waterfront Hall.
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A large choir and orchestra perform Messiah onstage in a concert hall for the 1966 UO Playback, with the conductor leading and a seated audience watching.

UO Playback: Messiah, 1966

Calling all orchestral time travellers…
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A group of students and adults, some holding bassoons, pose indoors with a large check for £2,000 made out to the Bromyard Symphony for Schools Project.

The Endangered Instruments of the Orchestra Project says thank you!

The project aims to develop a new generation of bassoon and viola players.
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A collage of people on Townsend Street participating in various performing arts activities including conducting, singing, juggling, ballet, face painting, and group dancing as part of Sound Links.

Sound Links celebrates the past, present and future of Townsend Street

The Ulster Orchestra performed three new pieces inspired by local people’s memories of the area as part of a community block party.
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A symphony orchestra performs on a well-lit stage in a large concert hall filled with audience members, including enthusiastic Primary School Pupils, as a screen behind displays the text "Our Wonderful World" during the Wonderful World Concerts.

‘Our Wonderful World’ Concerts Inspire Primary School Pupils Across Northern Ireland

The Orchestra will perform to more than 4,000 pupils all across Northern Ireland.
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Eight women, including healthcare workers from Craigavon Area Hospital and two musicians with a violin and cello, stand together outside a modern building, highlighting the impact of music therapy on Blossom Children’s Ward.

Bringing Music to Blossom Children’s Ward at Craigavon Area Hospital

The project is sponsored by Ulster Carpets.
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A collage of classical music album covers featuring various composers, the Ulster Orchestra, and renowned conductors, highlighting diverse artwork and text styles from acclaimed recordings available on Spotify.

Selected Ulster Orchestra recordings on Spotify

Explore the Ulster Orchestra’s back catalogue of distinctive classical and contemporary works on Spotify
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Latest News

Kingsbridge announced as key sponsor for Ulster Orchestra Schools Concerts

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Legacy Wealth Management encourage Orchestra supporters to create a lasting legacy through music

Read More

Ulster Orchestra and Legacy Wealth Management partner in new legacy campaign

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