RobertAmes

Recognised for bringing contemporary music, large-scale collaboration and ambitious live work into the orchestral mainstream, conductor & composer Robert Ames' work is marked by precision, intensity and a distinctive ear for texture, atmosphere and dramatic shape.

A regular presence at the BBC Proms, Ames has worked with many of the world’s leading orchestras including, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, L’Orchestre National De Lyon, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Metropole Orkest, RTE Concert Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Manchester Camerata, Moscow New Music Ensemble and Aarhus Symphony Orchestra.

Ames co-founded London Contemporary Orchestra in 2008 and, over nearly two decades, helped build the Royal Philharmonic Society Award-winning ensemble into one of the most distinctive orchestral platforms of its generation. Ames has developed an approach to music-making that combines contemporary repertoire, new work and orchestral performance with collaboration across artistic and cultural boundaries. He has worked personally with composers including Philip Glass, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Mica Levi, Jonny Greenwood, John Luther Adams, Terry Riley, Steve Reich and Bryce Dessner, conducting and premiering their music. He has also helped expand the possibilities of orchestral performance through projects spanning concert music, film, theatre, fashion and popular music, collaborating with artists including Radiohead, Anoushka Shankar, Little Simz, The National, Taylor Swift, Frank Ocean, Sigur Rós and The Weeknd.

Alongside his conducting work, Ames has built a parallel career as a composer. His releases include Change Ringing and CARBS, released on BMG, and his work in film has included arranging and conducting on Volker Bertelmann’s Oscar-winning score for All Quiet on the Western Front and the Oscar-nominated scores for Conclave and Jonny Greenwood’s Phantom Thread. He wrote the score for Hailey Gates’s Atropia, which won the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival

At the centre of Ames’s work is a belief that orchestras can combine musical rigour with genuine contemporary relevance. His programmes place major symphonic repertoire in dialogue with the most compelling music of the present.

“Robert Ames conducted with elegant economy, shaping long spans of sound with clarity and balance.” — The Times

“Ames's graceful, understated style drew a refined blend from the CBSO and Ex Cathedra.” — The Times

“The heroic virtuosity of the London Contemporary Orchestra under Robert Ames's exuberant direction made a vivid impact in a packed Royal Festival Hall.” — The Times