James Ross keeps his father[‘s ashes] close

Circling Issue #17, featuring James Ross

Maestro James Ross is a classical musician and orchestra conductor. A Boston native, he attended Harvard University. He studied conducting with Kurt Masur in Germany, as well as with Otto-Werner Mueller, Seiji Ozawa, and Leonard Bernstein. He has taught at the Juilliard School, the Curtis Institute of Music, and the University of Maryland, as well as working with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Orquesta Simfònica del Vallès in Barcelona, Spain, and many others. He currently serves as music director of the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra in Virginia, and orchestra director of the National Youth Orchestra USA which he cofounded in collaboration with Carnegie Hall in 2013. He is known for his improvisational skill and his drive to keep classical music alive and current for new generations of musicians and audiences. He has conducted orchestras around the world, and splits time between Alexandria and Philadelphia along with two rambunctious dogs.

To me (Krystiana), Ross is foremost known…