Episode 164 - Robert Ambrose

Jun 1, 2020

Robert Ambrose is the director of bands at Georgia State University, the conductor of the Atlanta Chamber Winds and the National Chamber Winds, founder of the Digital Director's Lounge, and is the chair of the CBDNA Covid-19 Response Committee.

Topics:

• Robert’s journey from guitarist to college band director and all of the people who took an interest in his career and helped to push him along.
• Having the courage to ask for what you want and a brief discussion of impostor syndrome.
• The band program at Georgia State, the Atlanta Chamber Winds, and the National Chamber Winds.
• The CBDNA Covid-19 Response Committee and the Digital Director’s Lounge.

Links:

• Robert Ambrose
• CBDNA Covid-19 Committee Report
• Atlanta Chamber Winds
• National Chamber Winds
• Mozart: Serenade for 13 Winds in B-flat major, K. 361 "Gran Partita"
• Maslanka: Symphony no. 4

Biography: 

Conductor Robert J. Ambrose is a versatile musician who pursues a wide range of professional activities. Ambrose currently serves as Director of Bands at Georgia State University, a research institution of over 53,000 students located in Atlanta. Under his direction, the Georgia State Band program has received widespread recognition with performances at the College Band Directors National Association Southern Division Conferences, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Parade; and internationally-distributed recordings on the Summit and GIA labels.

Ambrose is in constant demand as a guest conductor throughout the world and has conducted on four continents. Recent engagements include performances in Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan as well as across the United States. Dr. Ambrose has a particularly strong relationship with the Finnish music community, having been engaged in that country over a dozen times as a guest conductor, teacher, master clinician, and lecturer. He has also served as a guest conductor on tour with The United States Army Field Band.

Ambrose is Founder and Music Director of the Atlanta Chamber Winds and the Washington D.C.-based National Chamber Winds, Co-Founder of Bent Frequency Contemporary Music Ensemble, and Founder and Principal Guest Conductor of the Metropolitan Atlanta Youth Wind Ensemble. Ambrose’s transcriptions and editions are published by Presser Music, C. Alan Publications, and Fennica Gehrman, and his arrangements appear on several state music lists. Ambrose studied at Boston College, Boston University, and Northwestern University, where he received the Doctor of Music degree in conducting. Ambrose is a Conn-Selmer Educational Clinician.

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