Profile

Portfolio

The PVC for Global Strategy works alongside our Deans and other PVCs to coordinate our international engagement. 

He is responsible for forging sustainable and mutually beneficial international partnerships, and broadening the reach and impact of our research and teaching.

Biography in brief

Before being appointed PVC for Global Strategy, Ambrose was Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, overseeing the work of the University’s eight Arts and Humanities Departments and related Centres and Institutes in relation to their teaching, research, management, finance and human resources.

In 2017, he was appointed Honorary Professor of The Beijing Institute for Advanced Innovation, recognising his work developing international partnerships. The integration of the arts with science and technology feature heavily in his research, and he has served as industrial consultant to media companies and technology firms, as a member of AHRC peer review college and panels, and on the board of national professional bodies in the arts.

His output takes an informed approach to creativity by investigating how relationships to the environment and culture influence creativity.

He is an international award-winning composer, writing music for voices and ensembles with a characteristic lush sound world, and has worked extensively with technology in ways that explore immersive spatial connections to architecture, site and community. His album for ECM, Being Dufay, is distributed by Universal and was produced by Manfred Eicher. It toured to 13 countries (including performances at the Vienna Convertase and Parco Della Musica Rome), and received 5* reviews from BBC music and Classic FM. His work for 25 independent voices, Pod Twoja Obrone, was commissioned by the Polish National Chamber Choir to mark the 80th birthday anniversary of composer HM Górecki.

He writes on creativity in education, has given guest lectures and conference keynotes internationally on issues in contemporary music, and worked in interdisciplinary collaborations in areas from Education to Health Science. He studied Education at the University of Cambridge (Robinson) and received a PhD in Music from City, University of London.