Formed in 1966 and based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the Ulster Orchestra is now one of the major orchestras in the United Kingdom and Ireland, with a main concert season in the Ulster and Waterfront Halls, and additional performances across Northern Ireland. Orchestra in Residence for the Belfast Festival at Queen’s University, it also accompanies opera and ballet productions at Belfast’s Grand Opera House, while its outstanding education and outreach work has been recognised by an award from the Royal Philharmonic Society. Kenneth Montgomery is the Orchestra’s new Principal Conductor, and numbers among his distinguished predecessors Thierry Fischer, Bryden Thomson, Vernon Handley, Dmitry Sitkovetsky and Yan Pascal Tortelier. The Ulster Orchestra has made more than sixty recordings and is an exclusive broadcast partner of the BBC, with many relays on BBC Radio 3, Radio Ulster and BBC TV. Tours of Europe, Asia and the United States have added to the Orchestra’s reputation.