ABOUT OUR CONDUCTORS
Bernard Krüger – Conductor, Artistic Director
Bernard Krüger – Conductor, Artistic Director
Bernard Krüger is currently the Artistic Director of KZN Youth Choir.
He is a composer and arranger for local and international ensembles, a cappella groups, choirs and orchestras. Krüger studied conducting at the Koninklijk Conservatorium (Royal Conservatory) in The Hague, Netherlands, with Jos van Veldhoven and Jos Vermunt, received masterclasses from Simon Halsey, Paul Hillier, Jaap v Zweden, Tonu Kaljuste, Steve Reich, Masaaki Suzuki and Nathalie Stutzmann.
He is frequently in demand for workshops at conferences and festivals in South Africa and abroad, particularly for South African choral music and performance practice and was member of the jury at the Johannes Brahms Competition (2011), the European Choir Games (2013), the World Choir Games (2014), Canta al Mar (2016) as well as competitions and eisteddfods in South Africa.
In 2017, the Drakensberg Boys Choir, under Bernard’s direction, toured to Japan and performed in front of 38,500 people over 25 concerts in all major cities and in 2018, the Drakensberg Boys Choir was crowned Champions of the WCG in Tshwane in the category Scenic Pop. In 2019, Bernard led the DBC to perform at the official 20th Anniversary concert of The Lion King on the West End in London, in a joint performance with Lebo M and the cast.
Prior to working with the KZN Youth Choir, Bernard was the Creative Directot at the Drakensburg Boys.He has also led the Kearsney College Choir to be crowned WCG Champions in Scenic Folklore (2012) and Scenic Pop (2014). From January 2021, Bernard will return to Kearsney College as their Director of Music as part of the school’s centennial celebrations and the start of their second century as a top educational institution with a proud music tradition.
Bernard Krüger is actively involved in the promotion of choral music in South Africa and believes choral music will one day be the driving force to bring peace and understanding across cultures, borders, religions and all nations on Earth.
