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James Ross (conductor)

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James Ross is a British conductor and author.

James Ross (conductor)

Career

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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 in French opera (1998) awarded the Donald Tovey Prize. He studied with conductors including Sir Charles Mackerras, Ernst Schelle, Victor Feldbrill and Alan Hazeldine, and was a finalist in the 1998 BBC Philharmonic Conducting Competition.[1]

James Ross conducting the first orchestral concert at Nelum Pokuna Theatre, Colombo, with The Commonwealth Festival Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka

Since graduating he has conducted over 1,500 works in 20 countries throughout Western and Eastern Europe, North America, Africa and Asia, and in Westminster Abbey and leading UK concert halls including the Royal Festival Hall and St. John's, Smith Square, London, Symphony Hall, Birmingham and the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, where he performed Beethoven's 9th Symphony for the 350th anniversary in 2014. [2][3][4][5] In 2013 he gave the first orchestral concert at Sri Lanka's new national performing arts venue, the Nelum Pokuna Theatre, Colombo, with the Commonwealth Festival Orchestra.[6] [7][8] He was music director of the Oxford Opera Company and the Christ Church Festival Orchestra.[9][10] Since 2006 he has been music director of the Sidcup Symphony Orchestra[4] and since 2020, artistic director of Kent Sinfonia. Other previous positions include with Oxford University Sinfonietta and St Albans Symphony Orchestra.[11][12] 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.[13] His album 'Royal Throne of Kings', of previously unrecorded works by Vaughan Williams for Shakespeare plays with Kent Sinfonia, released with Albion Records on 1 November 2024.[14]

Ross has conducted numerous first performances of new works, including by composers such as Tunde Jegede, Philip Sheppard and Geoffrey Álvarez, at London's Saatchi Gallery,[15] and for Queen Elizabeth II on Commonwealth Day at Westminster Abbey. 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.[16] Ross is also a director of global classical music production company and consultancy Ulysses Arts.[17]

Publications

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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, Opera, The Musical Times and Music & Letters.

Bibliography

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  • 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 et son temps, edited by Manuela Schwartz; Sprimont, Mardaga (2006) ISBN 2-87009-888-X
  • Ross, James, 'Music in the French Salon', in French Music Since Berlioz, edited by Richard Langham Smith and Caroline Potter; Ashgate Press (2006) ISBN 0-7546-0282-6[18][19][20][21]
  • 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. ISBN 978-1-58046-272-3[22][23]
  • Ross, James, 'D’Indy's Fervaal: Reconstructing French Identity at the Fin-de-Siècle’, Music & Letters 84/2 (May 2003), pp. 209–40.
  • Ross, James, Music & Letters and Opera

References

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  1. ^ "James Ross" Archived 5 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Sidcup Symphony Orchestra. Retrieved 19 July 2011
  2. ^ "Джеймс Рос ще дирижира Новогодишния концерт на Филхармонията". Artnovini.com. 28 December 2011. Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  3. ^ "Gutsier, Confident Sounds Under the Baton of James Ross". The Sunday Times. Sri Lanka. 28 February 2010. ISSN 1391-0531. Archived from the original on 31 March 2010. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
  4. ^ a b "James Ross and SOSL take on Dvorak, Rossini and Bruch". The Sunday Times. Sri Lanka. 29 April 2007. ISSN 1391-0531. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  5. ^ "Chorus Mundi, St Mary Magdalen Church". Oxfordmail.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  6. ^ "The Island". Island.lk. Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  7. ^ "Fantastic performance! | Daily News Online : Sri Lanka's National News". 17 December 2013. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  8. ^ "nation.lk ::: - Connecting at a deeper level with 'Danno Budunge'". 14 December 2013. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  9. ^ Christ Church Festival Orchestra Archived 11 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Ccfo.org.uk, Retrieved 19 July 2011
  10. ^ "Christ Church Festival Orchestra". Oxfordmail.co.uk. Archived from the original on 28 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  11. ^ "Archive news from the St Albans & Harpenden Review". Stalbansreview.co.uk. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  12. ^ Burton, Madeleine (27 May 2010). "Long-serving conductor leaves Symphony Orchestra". Hertsad.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  13. ^ "Ankara Kent Filarmoni Orkestrası sezonu açtı • Haberton". 27 September 2021. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  14. ^ "Royal Throne of Kings: Vaughan Williams & Shakespeare (ALBCD062)". Albion Records.
  15. ^ "Sounds Outstanding- Soviet Gaiety and Musical Responses". Saatchi-gallery.co.uk. 1 March 2013. Archived from the original on 3 June 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  16. ^ Corradi, Emanuele (25 June 2016). "Milano: Love Hurts – first performance of new opera by Nicola Moro to libretto by Lisa Hilton – Spettacoli Teatro". Spettacoli-teatro.it. Archived from the original on 12 August 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  17. ^ Name * First Last. "Home". Ulyssesarts.com. Archived from the original on 2 November 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  18. ^ Hart, Brian (May 2008). "Reviews of Books: French Music since Berlioz. Edited by Richard Langham Smith and Caroline Potter". Music and Letters. 89 (2): 266–270. doi:10.1093/ml/gcm055. Jeunes Artistes, not Auteurs pp. 55, 82. "James Ross reminds us of the vital role that salons...as composers, performers, and patrons. Ross discusses the varying impact of salons... At their best, as in those by Ross, Simeone, Howat, O'Hagan, and both those......"
  19. ^ "French Music Since Berlioz. - Free Online Library". Thefreelibrary.com. Archived from the original on 13 August 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  20. ^ James Ross' fascinating survey of the salon traces some vitally important and little explored threads in the fabric of French music.' Hugh Macdonald, Professor of Music, Washington University in St. Louis
  21. ^ 'A masterly survey of a quintessentially French tradition'! Brio, March 2007
  22. ^ 'A remarkable contribution, and an essential work for those who are interested in French cultural history': Marie-Noelle Lavoie, 'Intersections': Canadian Journal of Music / Revue Canadienne de Musique
  23. ^ '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 [about how French nationalism should be reflected in music] makes 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
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