“The Ulster Orchestra will next week host the UK’s most prestigious classical music forum, the annual conference of the Association of British Orchestras (ABO), at the ICC Belfast,” reads an unsigned Thursday (1/17) Irish News report (Belfast, Northern Ireland). “Due to Brexit, the conference comes amid fears of restricted access to talent and increased red tape when touring continental Europe but ABO director Mark Pemberton says: ‘Brexit will of course be a topic, but with so little concrete information available … we will … look beyond geography and politics. What other boundaries exist? What are the barriers that inhibit reaching wider audiences? How can we make meaningful progress around diversity and inclusion?’ The conference takes place from January 23-25, with the Ulster Orchestra premiering a short piece by local composer Ryan Malloy … January 24 sees a special ‘cross-border’ concert in which the Ulster Orchestra, conducted by Rafael Payare, will be joined by players across Europe to form a 100-strong group of musicians in a performance of Shostakovich’s epic Symphony No. 4…. Other performances … will include the Chavorenge choir, part of a project by the Czech Philharmonic to rehabilitate the reputation of the marginalized Roma community in the Czech Republic.”
Posted January 17, 2019
