Ulster Orchestra collaborates with Ryan McMullan in an emotive song

Commissioned by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland to write a song marking the commitment and contribution of the NHS and its staff during the Covid19 pandemic, rising international star Ryan McMullan joined forces with the Ulster Orchestra who provided a special arrangement, performed by its string section, to record a beautiful new piece titled If This Is The End, which will be released on November 27

Ryan explained; “When the Arts Council asked me to write a song, the only story that I could think of was the one I had heard of John Wilson. John’s wife got sick during full lockdown, which meant he couldn’t visit her in the hospital or hold her hand as she passed - he never got to say goodbye to the person he spent his life with - and then I thought of the countless others who were going through the same thing. The song wrote itself after that I guess. Having the Ulster Orchestra arrange and perform it with me was so amazing and I’m incredibly grateful to them for being such an integral part of such a meaningful song.”

Patrick McCarthy, Ulster Orchestra’s Head of Artistic Planning and Operations, added: “The Ulster Orchestra was delighted to collaborate with Ryan to compose and record a string arrangement to accompany his inspiring song.”