The Ulster Orchestra was formed in 1966 and it has established itself as one of the major symphony orchestras in the United Kingdom. Its main concert season takes place in the Ulster Hall and the Belfast Waterfront, and it is a lynch-pin of the Belfast Festival at Queen’s. It has accompanied opera and ballet productions at Belfast’s Grand Opera House.

The Ulster Orchestra gives many concerts in centres across Northern Ireland and has performed many times at the National Concert Hall in Dublin. It has a major programme of education and outreach work, recognised by numerous awards, including the inaugural Royal Philharmonic Society Educational Award. In January 2009 the Orchestra was awarded the prestigious Arts & Business Arts Award in recognition of its professionalism and creativity in the management and development of its business relationships. Most recently, the Orchestra was the recipient of a London 2012 Cultural Olympiad Inspire Mark for the Pied Piper project.

Paul Watkins, the Orchestra’s Principal Guest Conductor, took up the post following the end of Kenneth Montgomery's tenure as Principal Conductor.  The Orchestra has had a long line of distinguished artists who previously held the Principal Conductor post, including Bryden Thomson, Vernon Handley and Yan Pascal Tortelier.

The Ulster Orchestra has made some 70 recordings, notably for Chandos, Naxos, BMG, Hyperion, Priory and Toccata Classics. The BBC has a unique relationship with the Ulster Orchestra as its exclusive broadcast partner with relays on BBC Radio 3, Radio Ulster and BBC TV. The mix of commercial recordings and streamed internet broadcasts has considerably enhanced the Orchestra’s international reputation.

Tours of Europe, Asia, and the USA have added to this reputation. In 2001 the Ulster Orchestra travelled to New York to launch the UKwithNY Festival, and that same month toured the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia.

The Orchestra’s main funding partners include the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Belfast City Council.