Belfast Ensemble and Ulster Orchestra present ‘celebration of protest’

The Ulster Orchestra and the Belfast Ensemble will this week join forces to present the premiere of Riot Symphony, a new work by Irish composer Conor Mitchell. The symphony places the texts of 1940s anti-Nazi student activist Sophie Scholl alongside the punk sounds of Russian group Pussy Riot and the Ukrainian national anthem.

Combining the forces of soprano (Rebecca Murphy), tenor (Michael Bell), orchestra and video installation, Riot Symphony builds on Mitchell’s preoccupation with exploring politically charged subjects through music, asking the question: ‘can young people challenge our leaders?’

Mitchell says: ‘I’m a Belfast composer drawn to political subjects. I grew up in a place where songs were charged with sectarian meaning. Protest is often on my mind, and at a time when protests are being quashed around the UK and the world, it feels really important to use my art to comment – people are rising up and making their voices heard! Pussy Riot’s courage, determination and resolve is utterly inspiring… We want to shake awake classical music and bring new audiences in to experience this really powerful form: orchestral protest punk. I hope they feel empowered by the experience and – perhaps – empowered enough to make their own voices heard too.’

The new symphony uses words from 1940’s activist Sophie Scholl who, as a Munich University student in Nazi Germany co-founded the White Rose group, distributed leaflets encouraging citizens to resist the Nazi regime, denouncing the murder of Jewish people and demanding an end to the second world war. She was reported to the Gestapo in 1943 and executed aged 21.

The premiere will be conducted by Gabriel Bebeşelea, principal conductor of the ‘George Enescu’ Philharmonic Orchestra and artistic director of the period instrument ensemble and festival Musica Ricercata, and performed by the Ulster Orchestra and Belfast Ensemble alongside work by Belfast-based video designer Gavin Peden.