James Ross is a British conductor and author. James Ross (conductor)

Career

Ross studied at Harrow School, and later at Christ Church, Oxford from where he received an MA in Modern History (1993), an MSt in Music (1994), and a

DPhil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in French opera (1998) awarded the

Donald Tovey Sir Donald Francis Tovey (17 July 187510 July 1940) was a British musical analyst, musicologist, writer on music, composer, conductor and pianist. He had been best known for his '' Essays in Musical Analysis'' and his editions of works by Bach ...

Prize. He studied with conductors including Sir

Charles Mackerras Mackerras in 2005 Sir Alan Charles MacLaurin Mackerras (; 1925 2010) was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. He was long associated with the Engli ...

, Ernst Schelle,

Victor Feldbrill Victor Feldbrill, (April 4, 1924 – June 17, 2020) was a Canadian conductor and violinist. Early life and education Feldbrill was born in Toronto,Alan Hazeldine, and was a finalist in the 1998

BBC Philharmonic The BBC Philharmonic is a national British broadcasting symphony orchestra and is one of five radio orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation. The Philharmonic is a department of the BBC North Group division based at Med ...

Conducting Competition."James Ross"
, Sidcup Symphony Orchestra. Retrieved 19 July 2011 James - Nelum Pokuna concert photo

Since graduating he has conducted over 1,000 works in nineteen countries throughout Western and Eastern Europe, North America, Africa and Asia, and in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

and leading UK concert halls including the Royal Festival Hall and

St. John's, Smith Square St John's Smith Square is a redundant church in the centre of Smith Square, Westminster, London. Sold to a charitable trust as a ruin following firebombing in the Second World War, it was restored as a concert hall. This Grade I listed churc ...

, London, Symphony Hall, Birmingham and the

Sheldonian Theatre Sheldonian Theatre, located in Oxford, England, was built from 1664 to 1669 after a design by Christopher Wren for the University of Oxford. The building is named after Gilbert Sheldon, chancellor of the University at the time and the project's ...

, Oxford, where he performed Beethoven's 9th Symphony for the 350th anniversary in 2014. In 2013 he gave the first orchestral concert at Sri Lanka's new national performing arts venue, the

Nelum Pokuna Theatre The Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre ( si, නෙළුම් පොකුණ මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ රඟහල, ''nelum pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa rangahala''; often known as Nelum Pokuna; previously the National Performin ...

, Colombo, with the Commonwealth Festival Orchestra. He is music director of the Oxford Opera Company, the Christ Church Festival Orchestra, and from 2006 the Sidcup Symphony Orchestra. Previous positions include with Oxford University Sinfonietta and St Albans Symphony Orchestra. In 2021, he conducted the Ankara City Philharmonic Orchestra (Ankara Kent Filarmoni Orkestrası)'s first concert, held at Ankara's new Presidential Symphony Orchestra Hall. Ross has conducted numerous first performances of new works, including by composers such as

Tunde Jegede Tunde Jegede (born 28 January 1972) is a composer and multi-instrumentalist in contemporary classical, African and pop music, who is of Nigerian descent and born in England and as a child travelled to Africa to learn the art of the kora. He is ...

, Philip Sheppard and Geoffrey Álvarez, at London's

Saatchi Gallery The Saatchi Gallery is a London art gallery, gallery for contemporary art and an independent charity opened by Charles Saatchi in 1985. Exhibitions which drew upon the collection of Charles Saatchi, starting with US artists and minimalism, mov ...

, and for Queen Elizabeth II on Commonwealth Day at

. In June 2016 he gave the first performance of the opera ''Love Hurts'', composed by Nicola Moro with libretto by Lisa Hilton, at Milan's Piccolo Teatro. Ross is also a director of global classical music production company and consultancy Ulysses Arts.

Publications

James Ross has co-written several books and articles on music, including ''Music in the French Salon'', ''French Music Since Berlioz'', ''Vincent d'Indy l'interprète'', and ''Messidor: Republican Patriotism and the French Revolutionary Tradition in Third Republic Opera''. His work has also been published in journals including

The English Historical Review ''The English Historical Review'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal that was established in 1886 and published by Oxford University Press (formerly Longman). It publishes articles on all aspects of history – British, European, and ...

Opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

The Musical Times ''The Musical Times'' is an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom and currently the oldest such journal still being published in the country. It was originally created by Joseph Mainzer in 1842 as ''Mainzer ...

and

Music & Letters ''Music & Letters'' is an academic journal published quarterly by Oxford University Press with a focus on musicology. The journal sponsors the Music & Letters Trust, twice-yearly cash awards of variable amounts to support research in the music fie ...

Bibliography

*Ross, James, 'Musical Performance in Post-Conflict Societies: Collaboration, Reconciliation and Community Cohesion', Defence Review, Institute of National Security Studies Sri Lanka (Volume II, July 2018). pp. 38–55. *Ross, James, ''Vincent d'Indy l'interprète'' in ''

Vincent d'Indy Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy (; 27 March 18512 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher. His influence as a teacher, in particular, was considerable. He was a co-founder of the Schola Cantorum de Paris and also taught at the P ...

et son temps'', edited by Manuela Schwartz; Sprimont, Mardaga (2006) *Ross, James, 'Music in the French Salon', in ''French Music Since Berlioz'', edited by Richard Langham Smith and Caroline Potter; Ashgate Press (2006) *Ross, James (2008) ''Messidor: Republican Patriotism and the French Revolutionary Tradition in Third Republic Opera'' in ''Music, Culture and National Identity in France, 1870–1939'', edited by Barbara Kelly; University of Rochester Press. 'A compelling statement about the complexity of relationship between politics and art, culture and national identity, especially in fin-de siècle France, but also in many places and times besides... detailed and nuanced; concise, well-argued, and thoroughly documented. ... The volume is historically rooted in the best ways. ... The exploration of this ambivalence bout how French nationalism should be reflected in musicmakes for a powerful statement. Accessible to musicologists and historians alike. A model for exploring the often-repeated, yet open-ended connections between music and politics, culture and identity.' Sindhumathi Revuluri, Journal of Musicological Research *Ross, James, 'D’Indy's Fervaal: Reconstructing French Identity at the Fin-de-Siècle’,

84/2 (May 2003), pp. 209–40. *Ross, James, ''

and Opera''

References

External links

James Ross website

Ulysses Arts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, James Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford British male conductors (music) Living people People educated at Harrow School 20th-century British conductors (music) 21st-century British conductors (music) 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century British male musicians Year of birth missing (living people)