Gary Daverne
| Gary Daverne ONZM | |
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| Occupation | Musical arranger, composer, conductor, director and producer |
| Website | garydaverne |
Gary Michiel Daverne, ONZM (born 1939), is a New Zealand musical arranger, composer, conductor, director and producer.
He was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 1996. He held the position of Music Director/Conductor of the Auckland Symphony Orchestra from its formation in 1975 until 2010 when, on retiring, he was appointed Music Director Emeritus. Daverne has also conducted many major orchestras around the world. He has composed music for symphony orchestras, brass and military bands, children's songs and musicals with more than 500 television and radio advertising jingles, film soundtracks and pop songs. Daverne is New Zealand's most prolific composer and arranger of music for the accordion. As a music producer Daverne has released over forty albums achieving one Platinum and two Gold records.
Since his retirement from the Auckland Symphony directorship position, he has gone back to his pop and rock 'n' roll roots as a record producer, digitally re-mastering, mainly for internet re-release on his Viscount label, archive recordings that he produced in his earlier years, along with producing new recording projects. He is still actively involved as a guest conductor with orchestras and as a musical arranger and composer.
During the 2014/15 period, Gary was musical director for three highly successful children’s musicals at the Glen Eden Playhouse Theatre in Auckland. Two of these musicals: Robyn Hood – Outlaw Princess (words by John Reynolds) and Cats of Ponsonby (words and story by Ray Prowse), Gary had composed the music for some 40 years ago but had recently revised and updated. The third show was The Rockin’ Tale of Snow White.
Other recent compositions by Gary include: Auckland March, Silver Fern March, 2nd Rhapsody for Solo Accordion and Orchestra and Dardanelle, a major work for orchestra and choir commissioned in 2016 by Turkey for their 100-year Gallipoli centenary.
In June 2015 he released his first book, From the Podium, sharing tales from his life of forty years conducting orchestras and choirs around the world. See http://www.garydaverne.gen.nz for details.
Daverne was born in 1939 in Auckland, New Zealand and was educated at Auckland University and Auckland Teachers Training College. He started his musical career in brass bands as a euphonium player, later changing to clarinet, playing in symphony orchestras, jazz combos and top New Zealand rock bands during the 1960s. He started playing piano seriously at age 21 and became a top line jazz and rock/pop pianist. He also doubled on alto and tenor saxophones.
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