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September 1966 saw the formation of the Ulster Orchestra, a new permanent and professional orchestra for Northern Ireland.
The orchestra, led by János Fürst, was composed of 38 players from Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, England, Hungary, France, Germany, Sri Lanka and the West Indies. With an average age of 25, the orchestra was a young and ambitious outfit. Many players were taking the very first steps in their orchestral careers, and grappling with the demands of chamber repertoire for the first time.
Maurice Miles was chosen as the new orchestra’s first Principal Conductor.
The epitome of a dapper English gent, he is fondly remembered by founder players as ‘a fine orchestral trainer’.
Miles was a natural choice – as conductor of the City of Belfast Orchestra, he had worked hard for many years to bring a permanent orchestra to the province, and its creation was the realisation of a long-held ambition.
‘It is with pride, mingled with awe, that I take on the immense responsibility of creating the Ulster Orchestra.' [...] ‘I have achieved a dream in the creation of a permanent orchestra.’
Friday 21st October 1966: The Ulster Orchestra makes its debut at the Ulster Hall
The orchestra’s first major concert at the Ulster Hall featured Wagner’s Siegfried’s Idyll, Schubert’s Sixth Symphony and celebrated pianist John Ogdon, joint winner of the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1962, playing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.3.
From the outset, the orchestra’s schedule was ambitious, and reflected two fundamental priorities: to take orchestral music beyond Belfast, where it had traditionally been performed, out to communities across Northern Ireland and beyond, and to create opportunities for schoolchildren to enjoy classical music.
The orchestra criss-crossed the province, performing lunchtime and evening concerts in towns and cities several times a week. Twenty schools concerts were scheduled in September and October 1966 alone, and approximately 12,000 schoolchildren across Northern Ireland attended Ulster Orchestra performances in 1966.
One founder player fondly recalled how at school concerts, Maurice Miles would liken an orchestra to a football team, an analogy which drew children in and encouraged them to return to evening concerts with their families.
September–December 1966
66 concerts in total
12,000 Schoolchildren
The inaugural season featured celebrated soloists, such as pianist Walter Susskind and violinist Ralph Holmes, whilst a number of the season’s guest conductors including Sergiu Comissiona and Kenneth Montgomery would go on to have lasting relationships with the orchestra and would later become Chief Conductors in their own right.
