Graham Ross (born 29 April 1985) is a British conductor and composer.

Early life and studies

Ross was born in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

and began his training as a treble, pianist, organist and violinist. He read music at

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

, studying composition with

Giles Swayne Giles Oliver Cairnes Swayne (born Hertfordshire, 30 June 1946) is a British composer. Biography Swayne spent much of his childhood in Liverpool, and began composing at a young age. He was educated at Ampleforth College and at Cambridge Unive ...

, and conducting at London's

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

, studying with

Peter Stark Peter Stark is a British conductor and teacher. He is currently Professor of Conducting at the Royal College of Music in London and Rehearsal Director of the European Union Youth Orchestra. Education and early career Stark studied violin and c ...

and Robin O'Neill. In 2004, whilst at Cambridge, he co-founded The Dmitri Ensemble, a performing group based around a string ensemble, of which he is Principal Conductor. In 2010, he made his

BBC Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

debut, with opera work taking him to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the English county, county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the int ...

, and

Musique-Cordiale The Musique Cordiale International Festival & Academy is an annual festival of classical music, song, oratorio and opera, founded in 2005. It usually* takes place in hill towns (village perché) of the Pays de Fayence between Nice and Aix-en-Proven ...

, Provence. Ross held a conducting scholarship with the

London Symphony Chorus The London Symphony Chorus (abbreviated to LSC) is a large symphonic concert choir based in London, UK, consisting of over 150 amateur singers, and is one of the major symphony choruses of the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1966 as the ''L ...

from 2008 to 2009, and was Musical Director of Concordia Chamber Choir and

Kingston Choral Society Kingston Choral Society is a large mixed-voice choir based in Kingston upon Thames in the UK. Originating in 1949, the choir in 2016 had around 140 auditioned members. It stages four concerts each year with professional musicians and soloists ...

from 2008 to 2010. In 2010, he was appointed

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

and

Director of Music A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the di ...

Conductor

Since 2010, Ross has directed the

Choir of Clare College, Cambridge The Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, is a mixed-voice choir whose primary function is to lead services in the chapel of Clare College, Cambridge. Since its founding in 1972, the choir has gained an international reputation as one of the lead ...

, with whom he has toured across Europe, the United States of America, Asia and Australia, including performances at Washington's

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

and

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

. He has conducted Aalborg Symphony Orchestra,

Aurora Orchestra Aurora Orchestra is a British chamber orchestra , co-founded in 2004 by conductors Nicholas Collon and Robin Ticciati. The orchestra is based in London, where it is Resident Orchestra at Southbank Centre and Resident Ensemble at Kings Place. The ...

Australian Chamber Orchestra The Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) was founded by cellist John Painter in 1975.Verghis, Sharon"Bach with more bite pays off" ''Sydney Morning Herald'', 2 September 2005. Richard Tognetti was appointed Lead Violin in 1989 and subsequently appo ...

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE) is a British period instrument orchestra. The OAE is a resident orchestra of the Southbank Centre, London, associate orchestra at Glyndebourne Festival Opera Artistic Associate at Kings Place, and h ...

London Mozart Players London Mozart Players (LMP) are a British chamber orchestra founded in 1949. LMP are the longest-established chamber orchestra in the United Kingdom. Since 1989, the orchestra has been Resident Orchestra at Fairfield Halls, Croydon. History B ...

and

Southbank Sinfonia Southbank Sinfonia is a British chamber orchestra founded in 2002. Composed of young professionals from around the world, each year it brings together 33 graduate musicians for a programme of performance and professional development. The annual f ...

and worked with soloists

Raphael Wallfisch Raphael Wallfisch (born 15 June 1953 in London) is a British cellist and professor of cello. As a soloist he performs regularly with leading orchestras around the world, as well as together with duo partner John York (piano), or as member of the ...

Richard Tognetti Richard Leo Tognetti AO (born 4 August 1965) is a leading Australian musician recognised internationally as a violin soloist, ensemble player, leader, composer and arranger, conductor and artistic director. He is currently artistic dire ...

Jennifer Pike Jennifer Elizabeth Pike (born 9 November 1989) is a British violinist. Early years and education Pike began playing the violin at the age of five, and after auditioning at the age of eight she gained a place at Chetham's School of Music in M ...

, Laura van der Heijden and Guy Johnston. Ross has conducted world premiere recordings by

James MacMillan Sir James Loy MacMillan, (born 16 July 1959) is a Scottish classical composer and conductor. Early life MacMillan was born at Kilwinning, in North Ayrshire, but lived in the East Ayrshire town of Cumnock until 1977. His father is James MacMi ...

Judith Bingham Judith Bingham (born 21 June 1952) is an English composer and mezzo-soprano singer. Life Bingham was born on 21 June 1952, in Nottingham. Her parents are Jack Bingham and Peggy Bingham (née McGowan). She was educated at High Storrs Grammar ...

Nico Muhly Nico Asher Muhly (; born August 26, 1981) is an American contemporary classical music composer and arranger who has worked and recorded with both classical and pop musicians. A prolific composer, he has composed for many notable symphony orchestras ...

Brett Dean Brett Dean (born 23 October 1961) is an Australian composer, violist and conductor. Biography Brett Dean was born, raised and educated in Brisbane. He started learning violin at the age of eight, and later studied viola with Elizabeth Morgan a ...

, Matthew Martin and

Imogen Holst Imogen Clare Holst (; 12 April 1907 – 9 March 1984) was a British composer, arranger, conductor, teacher, musicologist, and festival administrator. The only child of the composer Gustav Holst, she is particularly known for her education ...

, and premiere performances of works by

Toby Hession Toby Hession (born 6 February 1997) is an English composer, conductor, and pianist. Early life and studies Hession was born in Peterborough. Between 2010 and 2015 he attended Chetham's School of Music, Manchester, studying piano with Masayuki ...

John Rutter John Milford Rutter (born 24 September 1945) is an English composer, conductor, editor, arranger, and record producer, mainly of choral music. Biography Born on 24 September 1945 in London, the son of an industrial chemist and his wife, Rutte ...

Cecilia McDowall Cecilia McDowall (born 1951 in London, England) is a British composer, particularly known for her choral compositions. Life and career McDowall read music at the University of Edinburgh, continuing her studies at Trinity College of Music, Lond ...

Gabriel Jackson Gabriel Jackson may refer to: * Gabriel Jackson (composer) Gabriel Jackson (born 1962 in Hamilton, Bermuda) is an English composer. He is a three-time winner of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors British Composer Award. Fr ...

Jocelyn Pook Jocelyn Pook (, rhyming with "book"; born 14 February 1960) is an English composer and viola player. She is known for her scores for many films, including ''Eyes Wide Shut'', ''The Merchant of Venice'' and '' The Wife''. Education Pook gradua ...

and others. Ross's discography with The Dmitri Ensemble and the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge for

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...

and, since 2010,

Harmonia Mundi Harmonia Mundi is an independent record label which specializes in classical music, jazz, and world music (on the World Village label). It was founded in France in 1958 and is now a subsidiary of PIAS Entertainment Group. Its Latin name ''ha ...

USA, has earned him ''Rising Star'' in

BBC Music Magazine ''BBC Music Magazine'' is a British monthly magazine that focuses primarily on classical music. History The first issue appeared in September 1992. BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the BBC was the original owner and publisher toget ...

, a

Gramophone Award The Gramophone Classical Music Awards, launched in 1977, are one of the most significant honours bestowed on recordings in the classical record industry. They are often viewed as equivalent to or surpassing the American Grammy award, and refer ...

nomination, a

Diapason d'Or The Diapason d'Or (French for "Golden Tuning Fork") is a recommendation of outstanding (mostly) classical music recordings given by reviewers of '' Diapason'' magazine in France, broadly equivalent to "Editor's Choice", "Disc of the Month" in the ...

, Le Choix de France Musique, and Editor's Choice in

Gramophone A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

and

. Ross has been Assistant Conductor and Chorus Master for

Sir Roger Norrington Sir Roger Arthur Carver Norrington (born 16 March 1934) is an English conductor. He is known for historically informed performances of Baroque, Classical and Romantic music. In November 2021 Norrington announced his retirement. Life Norr ...

Diego Masson Diego Masson (born 21 June 1935) is a French conductor, composer, and percussionist. The son of artist André Masson and brother of the singer and actor Luís Masson, Diego Masson was born in Tossa de Mar, Spain. He studied piano and compositi ...

Edward Gardner Edward Gardner may refer to: * Edward W. Gardner (1867–1932), American balkline and straight rail billiards champion * Edward Joseph Gardner (1898–1950), U.S. Representative from Ohio * Ed Gardner (1901–1963), American actor, director and wr ...

Sir Mark Elder Sir Mark Philip Elder (born 2 June 1947) is a British conductor. He is currently music director of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, England. Life and career Elder was born in Hexham, Northumberland, the son of a dentist. He played the ...

Ivor Bolton Ivor Bolton Ivor Bolton (born 17 May 1958) is an English conductor and harpsichordist. Early life and education Bolton was born in Blackrod, Greater Manchester, England. He studied at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Blackburn and Clare Col ...

Lars Ulrik Mortensen Lars Ulrik Mortensen (born 1955) is a Danish harpsichordist and conductor, mainly of Baroque solo music, chamber music and early music repertory. He was a professor in Munich in 1996–99 and has since then been artistic director of Concerto Cop ...

and

Sir Colin Davis Sir Colin Rex Davis (25 September 1927 – 14 April 2013) was an English conductor, known for his association with the London Symphony Orchestra, having first conducted it in 1959. His repertoire was broad, but among the composers with whom h ...

Composer

As a composer, Ross has written over one hundred works for a wide variety of genres that have been broadcast and performed by

Barry Humphries John Barry Humphries (born 17 February 1934) is an Australian comedian, actor, author and satirist. He is best known for writing and playing his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He is also a film prod ...

BBC Concert Orchestra The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British concert orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five BBC orchestras which is not a full-scale symp ...

, saxophonist Anthony Brown,

City of London Sinfonia City of London Sinfonia (CLS) is an English chamber orchestra based in London. CLS performs regularly across the city of London in venues from East London clubs to traditional Central London concert halls. CLS is orchestra-in-residence at Opera ...

National Youth Choir of Great Britain The National Youth Choirs of Great Britain (NYCGB) is the family of choirs for outstanding young singers, and those with outstanding potential, in the United Kingdom. It comprises a total of five choirs for around 750 young people between the ages ...

, Park Lane Group,

Patricia Rozario Patricia Maria Rozario is an Indian-born British soprano. Born and educated in Bombay, India, she went on to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. She has performed at the English National Opera, Opera North, Glyndebour ...

, Solstice Quartet, and many choirs in the UK. He is published by

Novello & Co Wise Music Group is a global music publisher, with headquarters in Berners Street, London. In February 2020, Wise Music Group changed its name from The Music Sales Group. In 2014 Wise Music Group (as The Music Sales Group) acquired French cla ...

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, Encore Publications and the

Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music The ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) is an examination board and registered charity based in the United Kingdom. ABRSM is one of five examination boards accredited by Ofqual to award graded exams and diploma qualification ...

Other work

Ross is Artistic Director of Fringe in the Fen, a biennial music and arts festival in

Fenstanton Fenstanton is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England, south of St Ives in Huntingdonshire, a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and historic county. Fenstanton lies on the south side of the River Ouse. Known as ''St ...

, Cambridgeshire, raising funds for

Macmillan Cancer Support Macmillan Cancer Support is one of the largest British charities and provides specialist health care, information and financial support to people affected by cancer. It also looks at the social, emotional and practical impact cancer can have, a ...

. He is a Patron of the

London Festival of Contemporary Church Music The London Festival of Contemporary Church Music is an annual music festival held in London. History The London Festival of Contemporary Church Music was founded in 2002 by Christopher Batchelor at St Pancras New Church. Batchelor remains ...

. Ross has worked extensively in outreach projects, including projects for

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadin ...

BBC Singers The BBC Singers are a British chamber choir, and the professional chamber choir of the BBC. One of the six BBC Performing Groups, the BBC Singers are based at the BBC's Maida Vale Studios in London. The only full-time professional British c ...

Sue Perkins Susan Elizabeth Perkins (born 22 September 1969) is an English actress, broadcaster, comedian, presenter and writer. Originally coming to prominence through her comedy partnership with Mel Giedroyc in ''Mel and Sue'', she has since become best ...

, and a song-writing project with

Alzheimer's Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As t ...

and

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

sufferers for

English Touring Opera English Touring Opera (ETO) is an opera company in the United Kingdom founded in 1979 under the name Opera 80 by the then-existing Arts Council of Great Britain. In 1992 the company changed to its present name. Today it is sponsored in part by Ar ...

. In 2015, he represented the UK as adjudicator for the Malta International Choir Festival. For 10 years he has been principal conductor at the

International Festival in the Pays de Fayence each August in France and at its UK concerts in Kent, UK, each autumn.

References

External links

Official website of Graham Ross

Ikon Arts Management agency page on Ross
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Graham 1985 births Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge English composers English conductors (music) British male conductors (music) English violinists Fellows of Clare College, Cambridge Living people British male violinists 21st-century British conductors (music) 21st-century violinists 21st-century British male musicians