James Ross – Conductor
James Ross studied at London‘s Southbank International School and won scholarships to Harrow School in London and Christ Church at Oxford University, where he studied Modern History as an undergraduate, then Music as a postgraduate; his doctorate on French Opera, Politics and the Press was awarded Oxford‘s prestigious Sir Donald Tovey Prize. He studied violin, viola and singing, has extensive orchestral and chamber music experience, and was a 1998 BBC Philharmonic Conducting Competition finalist. Since then he has conducted in nineteen countries in Asia, Europe, Africa and North America. UK performances include at The Royal Festival Hall, Royal Albert Hall, St John‘s Smith Square, Symphony Hall Birmingham, state occasions in Westminster Abbey for Queen Elizabeth II, and Oxford‘s Sheldonian Theatre, for whose 350th anniversary concert he conducted Beethoven‘s Ninth Symphony.
In the UK, in addition to Welwyn Garden City Orchestra and Chorus, he is music director of Sidcup Symphony Orchestra, Haslemere Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Bridgnorth Sinfonia, King‘s College London Symphony Orchestra and artistic director of Kent Sinfonia. As Artistic Advisor of The Commonwealth Resounds, he has conducted The Commonwealth Festival Orchestra in the UK, Sri Lanka and Malta, also conducting concerts and tours in the UK, Turkey and Uganda with the Purcell and Chetham‘s Schools, conservatoires and Royal Over-Seas League.
He has conducted over 1,000 works including the complete symphonies of Beethoven, Brahms, Dvorák, Mendelssohn, Schumann and Tchaikovsky, operas by Bizet, Britten, Janacék, Mozart, Puccini, Tchaikovsky, Verdi and Wagner, and many ballet scores. Singers with whom he has worked include Sir Thomas Allen, Janice Watson, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Olga Borodina, Danielle de Niese and the UK National Opera Studio.
As a contemporary music conductor, his numerous first performances include collaborations with the City of London Sinfonia and Arts Council, at London‘s Saatchi Gallery with Philharmonia Orchestra members, and opera productions for the US Center for Contemporary Opera in Milan and New York.
James Ross also has extensive business experience as director of classical music consultancy Ulysses Arts, which provides strategy advice, due diligence, label services to venues, orchestras, soloists and record companies. Clients include Apple, Deutsche Grammophon, the Berliner Philharmoniker, L‘Orchestre de Paris, L‘Orchestre national de Lille, 21C Media Group, Julliard School, Meyer Sound Laboratories, Barbican Centre, Nimbus Records and Afghanistan National Institute of Music.
As a guest speaker, James Ross lectured at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France; he has taught at Oxford University and contributed to books and journals, especially on French music and culture. He has helped raise over £1 million performing for charities, including conducting English National Ballet in aid of Save The Children‘s work with refugees from Syria. He is a UK Incorporated Society of Musicians Fellow, and on the Board of Directors of The Commonwealth Human Ecology Council.
During the COVID-19 Pandemic, James Ross has produced more than 30 recordings for Ulysses Arts, conducted a televised concert broadcast and recording in Istanbul with the Büyükada Ensemble; in 2021 he led the Ankara City Philharmonic Orchestra‘s inaugural concert at the new Presidential Symphony Hall.
More details are at www.james-ross.com.
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James Ross – Conductor