Patrick Ayrton divides his time between performance on a variety of keyboards and his work as a conductor. He currently teaches thorough-bass, chamber music and improvisation at the Royal Conservatory of the Hague. He has been a tutor for the European Union Baroque Orchestra audition courses and has given masterclasses at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory and Gnessin School in Moscow, the Yonsei University of Seoul, the Latvian Academy in Riga and the Summer School of the Salzburg Mozarteum. Patrick Ayrton is the central figure in a documentary film based on Tregian’s Ground, a prize-winning novel by the Swiss writer Anne Cuneo.
His association and collaboration with the Dutch conductor Arie van Beek has led him to develop his skills as a music director. In recent years, he has received invitations to conduct orchestras of repute such as the Orchestra of the Auvergne, the Chamber Academy of Potsdam, the Dijon-Bourgogne Orchestra, the Pasdeloup Orchestra in Paris, the Nordic Chamber Orchestra (Sweden), the Symphony Orchestra of Cannes, the Latvian Radio Choir, the Chamber Orchestra of Munich or the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra. Patrick Ayrton is also the founder of the Les Inventions, a period ensemble which explores uncharted 18th century repertoire, such as the works of Joseph Touchemoulin and Thomas Linley. Les Inventions work in close partnership with acclaimed British vocal ensemble VOCES8.
Patrick Ayrton is also known for his pre-concert talks and is a regular lecturer. From 2004 to 2016, he was artistic director of the Bach en Combrailles Festival in France. In the season 2016-17, he conducted the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra in a cycle of 6 concerts featuring Baroque, Classical and Neo-Classical repertoire.