2024
Zane Dalal
Associate Music Director
Zane Dalal was born and educated in England. Awarded an Organ Scholarship to the University of Oxford, he held the position of Choirmaster and Organist at Oriel College Chapel. During his tenure the choir made several tours within the United Kingdom, notably to the cathedrals at Lichfield, Ely, Coventry and York. He holds Masters Degrees in Music from both the University of Oxford, U.K and from Indiana University, at Bloomington.
Mr. Dalal was on faculty at the University of Oklahoma, where he was Music Director of the Symphony Orchestra and Conductor of the University Opera Theater, from 1991 to 1993. Under his direction, the orchestra received tremendous recognition when they made their first statewide tours. In this capacity, he was selected to several fundraising committees and was a major contributor to the outreach program for the College of Fine Arts. In January 1994 his performance of Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony with the American Youth Symphony in Los Angeles, prompted enthusiastic endorsements from Zubin Mehta and Daniel Barenboim.
In September of 1994 Mr. Dalal led the Utah Symphony Orchestra in a special gala concert for the Lord Mayor of London, which launched the St. Paul’s Cathedral Appeal Fund in the United States. Preceding this event, he recorded a compact disc, with the same orchestra in collaboration with the inspired engineering of the late John Mosely, which traverses both pops and classical repertoire, using a revolutionary recording technique that eliminates distortion. Mr. Dalal's excellent rapport on the platform and the engineering procedures, resulted in the decision to record several of the works in unedited "single takes" resulting in an exciting, seamless musical flow.
In 1995 Mr. Dalal competed in the prestigious 'First Leonard Bernstein Jerusalem International Conductors Competition'. From a starting field of 233 candidates, selected from international preliminary rounds held in Tanglewood, London, Vienna, Tel Aviv and Osaka, Dalal was one of 17 international finalists invited to conduct in Jerusalem. Of three candidates advanced to that stage from the United States, he was the sole winner of the competition held in Tanglewood. In 1996, by nomination, he was one of nine conductors at the American Symphony Orchestra League ‘National Conductor’s Preview’, in Kansas City and spent that summer at the Ravinia Festival by invitation of Maestro Christoph Eschenbach. Through the 1997/1998 season Mr. Dalal was invited to assist with the Dallas Symphony acting as cover conductor for selected concerts with Andrew Litton and guest conductors. bIn February of 1999 he was shortlisted for the assistant position with the Minnesota Orchestra and in March was an active participant in the American Symphony Orchestra League workshop in Chicago.
In October 1999, following auditions for the assistant conductor position, Mr. Dalal was invited to lead the Florida Philharmonic on a two program-four concert outreach tour of the South Florida region. This successful endeavor was marked with a tremendously positive response to the level of musicianship on the platform culminating at the Pompano Beach Amphitheater. Mr. Dalal was honored to accept the key to the city, presented shortly thereafter by the mayor. In 2001 Mr. Dalal conducted the Chicago Civic Orchestra in audition, by invitation of Daniel Barenboim and conducted The Florida Orchestra during their search for a Resident Conductor.
In 2014, Dalal was appointed Associate Music Director of the Symphony Orchestra of India, having served for several years as Resident Conductor, joining the orchestra a few months after its founding in 2006. Dalal is deeply involved in all aspects and performances of the Orchestra—from conducting and rehearsing the musicians to helping shape the growth of the organization.
A keen musicologist, Dalal has initiated several steps in music appreciation at the NCPA, Mumbai. He regularly delivers lectures, pre-concert talks and pens articles and programme notes for the Symphony Orchestra of India. Dalal has been committed to many educational initiatives that help bring classical music to young children including all the music performance programs initiated by the NCPA, which in time will provide for local talent to flourish at internationally recognized standards. Mr. Dalal is a dynamic part of the music management team at the NCPA and is extensively involved in helping the NCPA, Mumbai bring western music to a wider audience.
www.zanedalal.com
