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Join BBC Radio 3 for a FREE lunchtime invitation concert with the Ulster Orchestra, shining a spotlight on 20th century English composers on 22 May 2025 at Belfast's Ulster Hall. The programme opens with a short overture by John Foulds, who was born in Manchester in 1880 – the son of a bassoonist in the Hallé Orchestra. A skilled and adventurous composer, his music largely fell out of favour after his death in 1939. However, it enjoyed a revival in the 1980s, leading to a performance of his Three Mantras at the BBC Proms in 1998. His Overture to Le Carbaret was composed in 1921 for a play about the 19th century French mime artiste, Jean-Gaspard Deburau. Foulds reworked it in 1934 and it’s light-hearted style, full of verve and swagger, is a hit with audiences.

Musicians from the Ulster Orchestra join the Belfast Philharmonic Choir as they celebrate the closing of their 150thanniversary season. Affectionately known as “The Phil”, the Belfast Philharmonic Choir is one of very few choral societies with an unbroken record of performance since it was founded in 1874. Their performance of Mendelssohn’s Elijah in the Ulster Hall in November 2024 was performed almost 150 years to the date when the Society first sang the piece in the same venue.

With his set of Opus 20 string quartets, Haydn changed the way the genre would be written forever, paving the way for the other pieces that make up this lovely programme. Giving each player a distinctive solo voice, his Opus 20, No. 2 quartet starts in a mood that is poised and stately, led by the cello, finishing with a joyous, dancing fugue.

Was it, or wasn’t it, an act of defiance and bitter retort to Stalin’s displeasure? Shostakovich’s life was so utterly and constantly in peril that he could never publicly declare whether his Fifth Symphony was simply ‘a Soviet artist’s reply to just criticism’ or a satirical puncturing of the dictator, deliberately hollow but dressed as adulation. But either way, it’s a phenomenal piece of music – playful, poignant and magisterial, it’s a blockbuster end to the Season. Walton’s lyrically romantic Cello Concerto sets the scene for Shostakovich’s dramatic fireworks.

Musicians from the Ulster Orchestra are delighted to perform at another gorgeous evening of music in Bangor Abbey.

The Ulster Orchestra is delighted to visit Seamus Heaney HomePlace on the Summer Solstice, bringing music suffused with the hazy light of midsummer.

Julie Fowlis, the acclaimed Scottish singer whose ethereal voice brought Hebridean authenticity to Disney/Pixar’s Brave, is internationally celebrated for her ability to connect traditional Gaelic song with global audiences. She joins forces with virtuoso violinist Zoë Conway from Co. Louth, known for her genre-spanning artistry and collaborations with artists such as Damien Rice, Lou Reed, Nick Cave, Riverdance, and Rodrigo y Gabriela. Guitarist John McIntyre, rooted in the musical traditions of Co. Donegal, brings a unique blend of subtlety and soul through his sensitive accompaniment and distinctive vocal style. Completing the ensemble is Éamon Doorley, founding member of Danú, whose rhythmic mastery on the bouzouki and skillful arrangements add depth and drive to this exceptional collaboration.

Cromarty, Forth, Tyne ... The Proms celebrates the centenary of the Shipping Forecast, heard daily on BBC Radio 4, a lifeline to all those at sea and a poetic salve for countless others on land.

Enjoy another stunning symphonic afternoon in September, as the Ulster Orchestra return to the Hill of the O’Neill. Another fabulous afternoon of much-loved classical music favourites lies in store, in the company of conductor David Brophy. It’s the concert for all the family that you won’t want to miss.