Music Director

Current Music Director

Mark Dorrell has been the Music Director of the Orpheus Choir from February 2012.  

Mr Dorrell is an experienced musician and is passionate about choral music. He studied at Cambridge
University, the Royal College of Music and the National Opera Studio. After four years on the Music Staff of the
Scottish Opera he moved to London in 1991 where he conducted the original London production of Stephen
Sondheim’s Into the Woods, Assassins and Passion.

While in London he worked with some of the big names of theatre and music, including at the National
Theatre conducting A Little Night Music with Judi Dench, Oklahoma with Hugh Jackman, and Peter Pan with
Sir Ian McKellen. He also worked on Guys And Dolls, Sweeney Todd, Candide, Lady in the Dark and Singin’ in the
Rain.

Mr Dorrell lived in Bermuda for several years where he conducted many productions before returning to
London to become head of Music for ARTS-ED, one of the UK’s leading musical theatre colleges.
Since relocating to New Zealand in 2007 he has enjoyed a busy freelance career. He has worked with the Orpheus Choir since 2010.
 

"The Life Artistic" in Fishhead magazine

Former Music Directors

Michael Fulcher

Michael Fulcher is a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music in London, the Queensland Conservatorium of Music (Griffith University) and the University of Queensland where he graduated with a high distinction in organ performance. He is a recipient of many awards including the Margaret Nickson Prize for Piano Accompaniment, the Hugh Brandon Prize for Organ performance and the Sir Charles Mackerras Conducting Scholarship. In Australia, Michael held the position of Assistant Organist of St John's Cathedral, Brisbane, for many years and Director of Music at Trinity College within the University of Melbourne where he also taught in the Faculty of Music and directed the Faculty choirs. In Brisbane, Michael also formed the chamber choir Vox Nova and was conductor of the Queensland University Musical Society conducting such works as A sea symphonyand Messa di Requiem of Verdi. In 1990 he studied the organ with David Sanger in London.

Michael also conducted operatic productions for Joseph Ward at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music Opera School including the Australian premiere of Billy Budd, L'elisir d'amore and Elijah (the stage production). During his time in Melbourne Michael won a place on the ABC Young Conductors Mastercourse, studying with David Porcelijn and also studied privately with the late Robert Rosen formerly of the Royal Romanian Opera. He was Young Artist Conductor at the Victoria State Opera in 1996 and at Opera Queensland in 1998 conducting productions of Don Giovanni, L'elisir d'amore and Faust, and working on Xerxes, Madama Butterfly and Die Frau ohne Schatten and Janacek's Glagolithic Mass.

After moving to the U.K. in 1997 Michael studied conducting with Mark Elder and Sir Charles Mackerras, worked for English National Opera conducted productions for New Sussex Opera, completed studies at the Guildhall school of Music and Drama in London and spent several years assisting Janice Chapman in her international singing studio.

In 2001 Michael conducted the Australian premiere of Roxanna Panufnik's prepared chorus Westminster Mass for the 51st Intervarsity Choral Festival to critical and audience acclaim. He also prepared chorus and principals for the world premiere of Going into shadows by Andrew Schultz in London and Brisbane.

In 2002 Michael conducted productions of Postcard from Marocco by Dominic Argento in London and The Pilgrim's Progress of Vaughan Williams for the Brisbane Festival in the presence of Ursula Vaughan Willimas and prepared Katarina Jovanovic for the role of Violetta for Grange Park Opera and Belgrade Opera. At 24 hours notice he also conducted a performance of La traviata for Pimlico Opera for an indisposed Mark Shanahan. Michael has also worked as repetitieur and chorus master on productions of Marriage of Figaro and Don Pasquale for Stanley Hall Opera in 2002 and 2003.

His work as an accompanist includes concerts with Katarina Jovanovic in London, Paris, Washington, Toulouse, Avignon, Reims and Clermont-Ferrand. Michael was assistant conductor for a world première in the Aarhus Summer Opera in Denmark in summer 2004, as well as chorus master and vocal coach for the Stanley Hall Opera production of Rossini La petra del Paragone in July 2004.

Michael Fulcher was very active as vocal coach and accompanist in London and Paris where he was also Organiste Titulaire of St George’s Anglican Church, Paris. Michael has conducted the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hanover Band.

Particularly interested in 20th century music, he conducted the NZ premiere of Lament for Jerusalem (April 30, 2005), Sir John Tavener's latest work, with the Orpheus Choir and NGC Wellington Sinfonia. Other engagements for 2005 include organ recitals at Wellington Town Hall and Wanganui Collegiate School, and for the NZ Choral Federation adjudicating the Big Sing at Palmerston North in August and conducting a Come'n'Sing workshop in May (Hummel Mass in B flat and Rutter Gloria) and of the Mozart Requiem for the Anglican Diocese of Wellington.

In 2005 he has given recitals with sopranos Madeleine Pierard, Alison Cormack (winners of the Lexus Songquest), Lisette Wesseling, Nicola Edgecombe and Barbie Paterson.

For the 2006 New Zealand International Festival Of The Arts, Michael created and prepared the inaugural New Zealand Festival Chorus and New Zealand Festival Youth Chorus, which performed to critical and audience acclaim in Wagner's Parsifal and James MacMillan's Quickening, with the Hilliard Ensemble and New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

Michael took up the position of Organist at St John's Cathedral, Brisbane in June 2011