Family Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without The Snowman. Audiences relive the little boy’s adventure with The Snowman, captured so magically in the animated film by Raymond Briggs. The film is shown on the big screen in the Waterfront Hall on Saturday 8 December with the Orchestra and conductor Christopher Bell providing the live soundtrack and the musical festivities. Children are invited to wear their Christmas fancy dress and bring their jingle bells for this fun one-hour event. There are two shows – but tickets are going fast!
One of the best-loved works of all time, Handel’s Messiah with its inspired music and rich choral sonorities, is always a highlight of the Orchestra’s Christmas season … and this year more than ever! There’s a great line-up of international singers and the Belfast Philharmonic Choir all under the baton of Martin Haselböck, the Vienna Court Organist who is also music director of orchestras in Vienna and Los Angeles. A revelatory performance is on the cards for the Waterfront Hall on 14 and 15 December. Look out for David D Q Lee, the counter-tenor who was one of the stars in this year’s Cardiff Singer of the World.
See in the New Year in style with music from the Waltz King, Johann Strauss. The Orchestra’s Viennese Gala concerts are popular and entertaining evenings of music and song as conductor Christopher Bell rings in the New Year with foot-tapping Viennese waltzes and polkas in the company of the outstanding Irish soprano Cara O’Sullivan.
Performances take place in The Diamond in Coleraine on 2 January and the Millennium Forum in Derry on 3 January.
Alongside the rhythms and melodies from olde worlde Vienna, Belfast audiences at the Waterfront Hall on 4 and 5 January will have an additional Latin-American flavour added to the cocktail. Camilla Dallerup and Ian Waite, elegant stars from the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, bring additional sparkle and fizz to an already heady mix. With so many flights coming into Northern Ireland, the Orchestra’s Box Office staff have noticed a rise in bookings from tourists – yes! even in January. That’s a cracker!
Join the Ulster Orchestra and guests as they get into the Christmas spirit with these festive concerts with something for everyone. Just the ticket for weary Christmas / January sales shoppers! -- www.ulster-orchestra.org.uk
