Tecwyn's rise and rise

24/5/2009

The accolades keep coming for former Dunedin conductor Tecwyn Evans (1985-89) who has been appointed conductor of the prestigious Graz Symphony Orchestra and Opera House in Austria.

Tecwyn Evans

Tecwyn is the first New Zealander to be appointed to such a position since fellow Old Boy, the internationally acclaimed John Matheson (1941-45) was given charge of the Erster Kapellmeister in Mannheim, Germany, in 1977. John died in March this year, leaving a legacy of one of the very best through the latter half of the 20th century.

‘‘I’ve wanted to have such a position for a long time, but never imagined I would get the opportunity at such a high level. I will conduct around 40 opera performances and concerts a year which gives time for my commitment to work at home in New Zealand,’’ Tecwyn said.

‘‘Graz is the number two opera house in Austria behind the Vienna State Opera.’’

Tecwyn studied composition and conducting at the University of Otago, obtaining a first-class honours degree and a masters degree with distinction. In 1997, he took up a Fulbright Scholarship to study conducting at the University of Kansas and was appointed chorus master for Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 1999.

Since then, he has conducted some of the best orchestras in the world, including the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Opera New Zealand, the BBC Philharmonic, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Auckland Philharmonia, the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra and the Southern Sinfonia.

He has now established himself as one of the most successful New Zealand musicians of his generation.

Later this year, he will conduct at the BBC Proms in London with the BBC Philharmonic and return to New Zealand for concerts with the Auckland Philharmonic and the NZSO.

NZSO chief executive Peter Walls said this week it was an outstanding appointment for Tecwyn and a real coup for New Zealand to be producing ‘‘stars of such exceptional quality’’.

Tecwyn will begin his tenure in Graz in August this year, where he will conduct productions of operas Die Meistersinger, Madame Butterfly, Tosca and The Marriage of Figaro.