Contributor
Gary Daverne
Composer, Performer
Biography
As a composer, Gary has composed music for symphony orchestras, brass and military bands, children’s songs and musicals, Māori Waiata, more than 500 television and radio advertising jingles, film soundtracks and many pop songs. Gary is New Zealand's most prolific composer and arranger of music for the accordion. His compositions and arrangements are published and performed regularly worldwide.
Gary is an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (1996), an International Paul Harris Fellow (2004) and a Companion of North Shore City (2010). Other awards include: Confederation Internationale des Accordeonistes (CIA), Honoured Friend of the Accordion Award (2009), New Zealand Variety Artists Club Scroll of Honour (2000) and their prestigious Benny Award (2010).
He currently holds the position of Music Director Emeritus of the Auckland Symphony Orchestra, the orchestra he founded in 1975. He directed and conducted his orchestra with dedication and passion for 35 years, retiring in 2010, handing his legacy over to a younger maestro. Gary started his conducting career as musical director for many of the local Musical Theatre productions. As an international conductor, Gary has conducted major orchestras in twenty different countries throughout Europe, South East Asia, the United States of America and Australasia. He held the official Government appointment as Music Director for the inaugural Waitangi Day Celebrations (1974) in presence of the British Royal Family.
Gary grew up on Auckland’s North Shore, attending Takapuna Grammar School, Auckland University and Auckland Teacher’s Training College, graduating as a secondary school teacher in economics and accounting. He was Head of Commerce at a leading Auckland College, before joining the music industry full time, combining his commercial skills with his musical talent and becoming well respected as a musical arranger for television, writing for many of the ‘popular’ TV shows of the day.
In his early years, during the 60’s, Gary was a Rock ‘n’ Rolla, playing piano and saxophone in top rock bands. He also played clarinet and percussion in the youth orchestras, brass and dance bands and pit orchestras for the local amateur musical theatre productions. He became a very successful record producer during the early 60’s, achieving gold and platinum hit records on his own Viscount record label, which he still operates today.
Today, Gary is known as an international composer and orchestral conductor, having conducted many of the world’s major orchestras, for his work with young people in children’s musical theatre and for support and giving young soloists the opportunity to perform in concert with a symphony orchestra - a direct result of him holding the NZ Department of Education, Composer in Schools position for two years.