Barry Wordsworth’s career has been dominated by his work for the Royal Ballet which started when he played the solo part in Frank Martin’s Harpsichord Concerto, a score used by Sir Kenneth MacMillan for his ballet, Las Hermanas. In 1973 he became assistant conductor of the Royal Ballet’s Touring Orchestra and in 1974 principal conductor of Sadlers Wells Royal Ballet. He was appointed music director of the Royal Ballet in 2007, having previously held the position from 1990 to 1995. He is also principal conductor of the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra, and in 2006 became conductor laureate of the BBC Concert Orchestra, having served as its principal conductor since 1989.

He has conducted all the major British orchestras, including the Philharmonia Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and abroad he has made guest appearances with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Toronto Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, New Zealand Symphony and Sydney Symphony. He has also conducted ballet productions for the New National Theatre Tokyo, the Leipzig Ballet, and the ballet of the Opéra National de Paris. He has made many recordings, including an album with Bryn Terfel and the London Symphony Orchestra which won a GRAMMY Award in 2007. In 2006 he was made an Honorary Fellow of Trinity College of Music, London.

In 1987 while retaining his connection with both Royal Ballet companies as guest conductor, Barry Wordsworth also worked with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Ulster Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. For Naxos Barry Wordsworth has recorded a number of Mozart and Haydn symphonies, works by Smetana and Dvořák and for the Marco Polo label works by Bax.