Musical Director

Rupert D'Cruze 

Dalewool Auckland Brass has recently announced the appointment of Rupert D’Cruze as its new professional Musical Director. He is an exciting new face on the New Zealand music scene, and is described by composer and Royal Academy of Music professor Timothy Bowers as ‘an outstanding, highly versatile conductor’.

Amongst the key influences in his development are several powerful musical figures including the legendary Sir George Thalben Ball and internationally renowned conductors Sir Simon Rattle and Claudio Abbado. D’Cruze’s musical career started as a boy chorister in the London’s famous Temple Church Choir and moved on to brass playing as Principal Trombonist in the European Community Youth Orchestra and the London Schools Symphony Orchestra. Whilst later working as a professional player and teacher, his conducting talent was recognised, and he was accepted onto the prestigious Advanced Conductors Course at the Royal Academy of Music, London, where Sir Colin Davis and George Hurst were his mentors. He was awarded several prizes for his conducting - the Philharmonia Prize which led to collaboration with the Philharmonia Chorus in London, second prize in the Hungarian International Conducting Competition, and the finalist’s prize in the Tokyo International Conducting Competition. Rupert went on to direct the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, the South German Radio Symphony Orchestra, the North Hungarian Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Liszt Ferenc Music Academy.

In the 1990’s D’Cruze was the Artistic Director of the UK’s long established and highly regarded Huddersfield Philharmonic Orchestra. With many years experience directing wind and brass bands, Rupert also has a strong interest in performing works by living composers. Throughout his career he has directed many premieres of new music and commissioned several new works including English composer Michael Hurd’s ‘Five Spiritual Songs’ for the Portsmouth Festival Choir’s 25th anniversary celebrations, and for the Reading Youth Orchestra, Timothy Bowers ‘Refractions’. Rupert also worked closely with Bowers directing the first performances of his ‘Trumpet Aria’ and his ‘Violin Concerto’.  He also gave the first performances in Hungary of Sir Malcolm Arnold’s ‘Eighth Symphony’.

Making music with young people has always played an important role in Rupert’s career, and he has worked with many British youth orchestras and as Guest Conductor to the Bartok Institute in Miskolc, Hungary. For many years he was an Examiner for the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, helping to develop their examination programme. He is presently brass specialist at the University of Waikato.
Since coming to New Zealand in 2006 he has made a big impact on the musical scene. The Trust Waikato Symphony Orchestra made him their first full-time Music Director in 2008. He has led the development of TWSO Education, the orchestra’s new educational programme, which includes the region’s first orchestral conductor training programme. He recently formed the Hamilton Festival Chorus and conducted their highly successful inaugural performance with TWSO at the Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival earlier this year.

Rupert has a busy guest conducting schedule in NZ and he has worked with the Hamilton Civic Choir and Opus Orchestra, the Manukau City Symphony Orchestra, the Auckland Choral Society, the St. Matthews Chamber Orchestra, Auckland and the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra.

He is much looking forward to his new role with Dalewool Auckland Brass and Resident Conductor Colin Clark. As Murray Carey, President of Dalewool puts it - “We have the makings of a good team now and a good team is a winning team.”

Rupert D'Cruze
Dalewool Auckland Brass Musical Director

Rupert D'Cruze Website