Ulster Orchestra
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The Ulster Orchestra is Northern Ireland's only full-time symphony orchestra and one of the major orchestras in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1966, it has existed in its present form since 1981, when the BBC Northern Ireland Orchestra was disbanded; this subsequently led to an increase in the orchestra's numbers. It currently employs 63 full-time musicians and 17 administrative support staff, and has toured extensively throughout Europe, Asia, and North America. Kenneth Montgomery will become Principal Conductor in September 2007. The Conductor Laureate is Vernon Handley CBE, and the current Associate Composer is Brian Irvine. The orchestra play the majority of their concerts in the Ulster Hall and Waterfront Hall.
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[edit] Funding
The orchestra obtains some of its funding from private and commercial sponsorship, but most comes from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Belfast City Council, and the BBC. The BBC maintains exclusive distribution rights over the orchestra's performances, which are broadcast locally on Radio Ulster, and nationally on BBC Radio 3. The orchestra has also made over 60 recordings, and makes additional revenue from the sale of these, and from box-office sales. Its annual turnover in 2001/02 was in excess of £3.4 million.
[edit] Education and community outreach
The orchestra undertakes a number of outreach projects, aiming to develop local musical talent and increase future audiences' enjoyment of orchestral music. Musicians from the orchestra regularly hold workshops in schools throughout Northern Ireland, and the orchestra also arranges a series of community outreach projects, such as pre-concert talks and instrument master-classes.
