Take a step out of the every day and visit worlds of the imagination. In Ravel’s Ma mère l'oye, we look into the world of much-loved fairy tales such as Beauty and the Beast and Tom Thumb. Michael Gallen’s Bád on Alltár, which translates as ‘Boat From Beyond’, is a fusion of Irish Traditional and classical musics drawing on the Celtic idea of the ‘thin veil’ between reality and the otherworld, bringing something new and previously unimagined to change our lives. Kenneth Hesketh’s arrangement of Lili Boulanger’s Three Pieces for Piano takes us to two imagined gardens and a cheerful parade, while Debussy’s Nocturnes evocatively depict the procession of clouds across the sky, the bustle of a festival and the sea-songs of the mythical sirens, all inspired by paintings by James McNeill Whistler.

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Ulster Orchestra: Distant Shores

Ulster Hall

Mahler’s First Symphony opens with shimmering sunlight and sounds of nature, starting 2024/25 in a wakening landscape scene that seems to pick up the idea of ‘rebirth’ that closed the 2023/24 Season. We join a walking wayfarer as they make peace with their tempestuous past and stride confidently into their future – not a bad way to start a new Season!

Michael Gallen

Events

Past events

Oct 24, 2025

Ulster Orchestra: Distant Shores · Ulster Hall

Sep 20, 2024

New Beginnings · Ulster Orchestra

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