An exciting Season awaits you! To our dear audience members. As I embark upon the fourth year of my partnership with our wonderful Ulster Orchestra, I am very happy to share with you our 2017/18 Concert Season, a season which offers a diversity of music for all tastes. I have been on an amazing journey with you and with the artists of the Ulster Orchestra, expanding our love and appreciation of beautiful orchestral music and working tirelessly to share the highest standard of music-making. This year, we are proud to open the new Season as part of Culture Night Belfast, celebrating the best of symphonic dance music from around the world and featuring our Artist Laureate, Sir James Galway, as special guest. During the year we are joined by internationally-renowned, best-loved soloists including pianists Jean-Efflam Bavouzet and Simon Trpčeski, violinists Sergey Khachatryan and Tasmin Little, along with cellists Alisa Weilerstein and Johannes Moser. Alisa and I will be sharing the stage once again, this time performing Dutilleux’s highly expressive Tout un monde lointain in an all-French programme featuring Debussy’s La mer. Of special note is the concert with my good friend Pacho Flores, the outstanding Venezuelan trumpeter whose recording contract with Deustche Grammophon indicates his international status. We grew up together in the Simón Bolívar Orchestra and he will bring a range of trumpets and artistry to beguile you. We also welcome some of the best established and upcoming conductors, and are delighted that our Principal Guest Conductor, Jac van Steen, will be conducting some of the greatest concertos ever written. New faces include Antony Hermus, and there are return visits from Gergely Madaras, Eivind Gullberg Jensen and Jonathan Darlington. 2
Other Season highlights for me include a special Mozart week in April and, following a personal passion of mine, we are closing the Season with the fantastic Shostakovich Symphony No.5. This spectacular final fanfare marks the start of the Ulster Orchestra’s exploration of Shostakovich’s all-encompassing war symphonies. And, for some daylight delight, our popular JTI Lunchtime Concert Series returns to the Ulster Hall on selected Tuesdays. We are committed to sharing our music as widely as possible so there are many local concerts taking place this year. Please keep a look out for one near you as part of our ‘On Your Doorstep’ programme. Whether you’re a long-term supporter or a newcomer to the world of the Ulster Orchestra you will find that there’s something for everyone this Season. We all look forward to you joining us for your choice of orchestral magic.
Rafael Payare Music Director
BOX OFFICE: 028 9033 4455 ULSTERORCHESTRA.ORG.UK