One of Belfast’s oldest Presbyterian churches is to become the Ulster Orchestra’s first permanent home.
A fresh funding package has seen the orchestra take ownership of Townsend Street Presbyterian Church, which links the Falls and the Shankill Roads.
And over the next two years the complex - comprising the main church, a former school and a memorial hall dating back to the 1840s - will undergo major refurbishment works and will be renamed ‘Ulster Orchestra at Townsend’.
One of the UK’s premier orchestras for nearly 60 years, the Ulster Orchestra has received funding support from the Foyle Foundation, National Lottery Heritage Fund and a number of other key organisations to enable the investment.
And as well as providing a much-needed home for the Orchestra, the restoration of the Grade B1 listed building will also create a rehearsal and event space, a music learning and community engagement hub, a dedicated recording studio, additional rehearsal rooms and spaces to rent.
Ulster Orchestra chief executive Auveen Sands said: “Thanks to the generous support of the Foyle Foundation, National Lottery Heritage Fund, Ulster Garden Villages, Dormant Accounts Fund NI and the continued support of the Department for Communities, Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Belfast City Council, we are delighted to have taken ownership of the Townsend Street Church complex and are proud to call it our new permanent home.
“We want to create a flexible space that removes barriers to music for all, acknowledging both the heritage of Townsend Street but also that of the Ulster Orchestra.
“Our key vision is to be a vital force in the cultural, social and educational life of Northern Ireland.
“We already work closely with many local communities through our learning and community education programme, but we want everyone to have access to our music and to deliver even more diverse and engaging activities.
“By having our own home, this is more achievable and an exciting opportunity to embed ourselves in the heart of the community.”
