Born in
Hamilton, Ontario, Ambrose was the son of composer and organist
Robert Ambrose and the grandson of organist
Charles Ambrose. His cousin, pianist Ellen Ambrose, founded the Duet Club of Hamilton in 1889. He began his musical training in the piano and the organ as a young child with his father. In 1886, at the age of 18, Ambrose moved to New York City to assume the post of organist-choirmaster at Madison Ave Methodist Episcopal Church where he remained for nearly 5 years. While in New York he pursued further musical studies with
Dudley Buck (orchestration),
Kate Sara Chittenden (piano),
Bruno Oscar Klein (composition), and Albert Ross Parsons (piano). He later taught
music history at the
American Institute of Applied Music in New York in the early years of the 20th century. In 1890 Ambrose moved to
Trenton, New Jersey to become the organist-choirmaster at St James Methodist Episcopal Church, a post he held through 1917. In 1904 he became music director at the New Jersey State Normal School (now
The College of New Jersey), where he remained until his retirement in 1934. He notably served four terms as president of the National Association of Organists while living in the United States. After his retirement, Ambrose lived the rest of his life in Hamilton, where he served as guest organist at the Christ Church Cathedral. In 1939 he was elected president of the
Royal Canadian College of Organists. He died in Hamilton in 1941 at the age of 72. == References ==