The Ulster Orchestra - 50 years young

[Hornspieler]

http://www.byersmusic.com/orchestras-in-northern-ireland.php#66

As August approaches its last few weeks, we come to the fiftieth Anniversary of the foundation of the Ulster Orchestra ... and it is still providing an essential contribution to music making in the province of Ulster.

Founded as a replacement for the largely amateur City of Belfast Orchestra, with the support of The Arts Council of Northern Ireland , the Northern Ireland Musicians Association (NIMA) and locall authorities throughout the six provinces of Ulster, the object was to provide both orchestral concerts and concerts for schoolchildren.

The beginnings were small - a chamber orchestra composed of a few local ex-Belfast players, some imported professionals from Eire and some ex students embarking on their first professional careers.

There were many problems to be solved and much organisation regarding recruitment of an Administrative Staff, the scheduling of concert performances, publicity, travel arrangements and provision of box office facilities, programme notes and - well, I could go on, but follow the link above starting with the music situation before the inception of a permanent orchestra to fulfill the musical needs of one of the United Kingdom's most music loving population.

So I am proud to have been given the responsibility of organising the administrative functions as the orchestra's General Manager during those formative years and I offer my congratulations to all those who have nourished and enhanced the status of the Ulster Orchestra, which is now a full sized symphony orchestra, giving performances (and broadcasting on Radio 3) throughout The British Isles and beyond..

In the midst of the present run of Promenade Concerts, it is appropriate that the Golden Anniversary of The Ulster Orchestra should fall in this month.

Cheers!

Hornspieler (AKA - ?):ok

My thanks to FHG for his correction to the title of this thread. (It's very easy for my clumsey digits to hit two adjacent keys without reading that wot I wrote.)

I'm so glad that my original ambition - to play the clarinet like Benny Goodman was thwarted by the lack of an available school instrument.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Many thanks, HS - a few s in honour of your pioneering work with this fine orchestra.



(Incidentally, does anyone know how I can remove my own Monica from the foot of HS's post - the "edit" was in response to his own request concerning a typo in the Title; as it stands, it looks as if I've seriously altered the content! )

[richardfinegold]

Have Guinness on me

[gradus]

Here's to all at the Ulster Orchestra, long may they play and prosper.

[Hornspieler]

The following quote is from my post "Hornspieler and the Three Bees" (message #104)

When I accepted the post of Manager of the newly formed Ulster orchestra it was for a contract of 2 years, renewable by mutual consent.

During those two years, I had recruited my office staff, engageded two loyal platform attendants (I inherited the music librarian from the former City of Belfast Orchestra) organised booking office facilities in all the venues, found a good publicity company, gained access to the Bournemouth orchestra's Programme Note writer and purchased a new van to transport the orchestra's heavy equipment.

Maurice Miles was persuaded to resign on the grounds of his commitments to the Royal Academy of Music and I found a new conductor who I had met and played for - Sergiu Comissiona a pupil of Silvestri. I had also poached an assistant conductor, my former colleague from the BSO horn section, Alun Francis, who had studied conducting with Silvestri during the Maestro's tenure in Bournemouth.

But towards the end of my contract, I decided not to renew. There was constant interference from the Director of the Northern Ireland Arts Council - a former bassoon player who had always wanted to manage an orchestra but had now found himself in a higher post. He was continually arranging for artists to appear with the orchestra, at excessive fees on dates when there was not even a concert hall of adequate size available.

Embarrassing and frustrating but even worse was the political unrest within the Province.
When they started turning police land rovers on their side in the Falls Road and audiences walked out if we played the National Anthem in Newry and Strabane, I decided that enough was enough.

I moved the family back to Bournemouth, where my wife was offered an immediate position as Nº 3 1st violin (Principal Rate)

So, I'm sad at abandoning my part in the orchestra's development over the last 50 years, but pleased that my contribution in setting up the Administration and Management of the orchestra has borne such rich rewards.

HS

[richardfinegold]

Was there consideration to not play the National Anthem in such a Politically charged climate? I've never understood why Concerts need to have overt shows of Patriotism

[Sir Velo]

Was there consideration to not play the National Anthem in such a Politically charged climate? I've never understood why Concerts need to have overt shows of Patriotism

Indeed. It does seem rather like fanning the flames, rather than dousing them.

[Once Was 4]

There was a trumpet player freelancing, teaching and conducting brass bands in Yorkshire who had played in the old City of Belfast Orchestra during the mid-60s; he told me that, when he first went there, he asked in all innocence if they "played the Queen". In response he was called an 'English bastard'.

I myself shared a flat with two Belfast lads at the end of the 60s - they were from strongly militant families, one republican, one loyalist and were firm friends but said that they would never dare visit each other at home.

[Hornspieler]

Was there consideration to not play the National Anthem in such a Politically charged climate? I've never understood why Concerts need to have overt shows of Patriotism

The Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI) was funded entirely by the Arts Council of Great Britain and the Irish members of the UK parliament were based in Stormont Castle.

So the governing body was based in Stormont, where the majority of seats were held by the Democratic(?) Unionist Party under the leadership of Ian Paisley. ACNI was funded from Stormont and the DUP insisted on the National Anthem being played at the start of every performance by the Ulster Orchestra.

The orchestra's local representatives assured us that in the border towns of Newry and Dungannon , , we would be playing to an empty hall if we started with "God Save the Queen".

It seemed that the whole concept of an orchestra to cover the whole of Ulster was in danger of being abandoned by this ridiculous political squabble but we found a solution in the fact that the Province of Ulster actually includes [B]three/B] counties (Cavan,Monaghan and Donegal) which are in Eire so that would involve our playing "The Soldiers Song" if we were invited to play there - and Mr Paisley and his acolytes would certainly not stand for that, so the matter was resolved - No National anthems would be played before the commencement of any of the orchestra's performances.

Clear as mud? Well, I suppose so - but that's politics for you!

HS

[richardfinegold]

Didn't mean to hijack the thread, but in some cases it is inevitable that Politics will accompany any discussion of Music and this is one of them.
The real shame is that Music ought to be a bridge uniting people, and not be used to fan the flames, as Sir Velo put it.