Conductor
Bio
Danko Druško is a California-based conductor and educator, widely recognized for his dynamic artistry and dedication to music education. Born in Germany to Croatian immigrant parents, he is a first-generation college graduate. Druško frequently collaborates with the Los Angeles Philharmonic as a guest/cover conductor at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and The Ford. As Artistic Director of the California Orchestra Academy, he provides high-level pre-professional training to young musicians, ensuring accessibility regardless of economic background. He currently serves as Director of Orchestral Studies at Chapman University’s Hall-Musco Conservatory of Music and as Principal Conductor of the LA Soundscape Orchestra, which specializes in studio recordings for film, gaming, and virtual reality scoring.
Druško has conducted orchestras including Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Metropolitan Orchestra Lisbon, Rochester Philharmonic, Budapest Operetta, Frankfurt Opera, and Royal Opera Belgium. He has collaborated with a distinguished roster of conductors, including Simone Young, Philippe Jordan, Thomas Wilkins, Sarah Hicks, David Newman, Louis Langrée, and Gustavo Dudamel, as well as renowned artists such as Joshua Bell, Alison Balsom, Nicola Benedetti, Lisa Batiashvili, Lukáš Vondráček, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Ledisi, Café Tacvba, Beck, Harry Connick Jr., and Earth, Wind & Fire. His performances span a wide range of styles—from classical and rock to movies in concert, including Jaws, Home Alone, The Little Mermaid, Star Wars: A New Hope, and more.
A recipient of numerous prizes in Germany, Druško was awarded the Friedrichshafen City Art Award (Künstlerförderpreis) in 2014, a biennial honor recognizing promising artists who advance regional culture. He also received the Conducting Prize of Lake Constance in 2012 and was named a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar in 2011. Before embarking on his conducting career, Druško performed as a professional trumpet player and tenor with symphonies and opera houses across Germany.
In addition to his conducting work, Druško partnered with LA-based artist Frances Stark and legendary producer H.B. Barnum to reimagine Mozart’s The Magic Flute for youth wind soloists and string orchestra. The project, commissioned for the Absolut Art Award, was recorded in Hollywood and premiered at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) before touring major museums such as MoMA and the Smithsonian.
Praised as a "miracle worker" by Peninsula Reviews, Druško is a passionate advocate for community engagement through music. He champions the performance of regional and traditional music to unite audiences of diverse backgrounds. He also founded the Hoosier Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir, assembling over 250 musicians for an inaugural performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2.
Druško has been invited to some of the most competitive international conducting competitions, each drawing hundreds of applicants from across the globe. He advanced to the final stages at events such as the Sir Georg Solti Conducting Competition with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony and the Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester, the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Kálmán Imre International Conducting Competition with the Budapest Operetta Theatre, the International Opera Conductors’ Competition Polycarpe with the Royal Opera of Wallonia, and the Jovens Maestros Conductors’ Competition with the Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa.
Druško holds advanced conducting degrees from the IU Jacobs School of Music and the Eastman School of Music. His most influential mentors include Cliff Colnot, Arthur Fagen, David Effron, Manfred Schreier, and Hanspeter Gmür. He also earned dual Staatsexamen degrees in Music Education and English Literature/Linguistics from the University of Music Trossingen and the University of Konstanz.
Previous academic appointments include serving as Director of Orchestra and Opera at Northern Illinois University’s School of Music and as Associate Instructor with the world’s largest university opera program, the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Opera and Ballet Theater. Druško has also taught at the University of Guelph in Canada and passed the highly competitive physical aptitude test to study sport science in Germany. An avid outdoorsman, he draws creative inspiration from nature. He lives in Orange County with his wife, Ameena Khawaja, Vice President of Education and Community Engagement (Pacific Symphony), and their two sons.
More
International Conducting Workshop with Maestro Druško
Frances Stark's The Magic Flute (orchestrated by Danko Druško)
Mahler 2 pre-concert lecture with The Cleveland Orchestra
Schedule
The Chapman Orchestra
Musco Center for the Arts
May 15, 2027
Sholund Scholarship Concert
Concerto Competition Winners
Conductor
The Chapman Orchestra
Musco Center for the Arts
March 5, 2027
Mahler Symphony No. 5
Music Director
The Chapman Orchestra
Musco Center for the Arts
December 4 & 5, 2026
Wassail Holiday Concert
Conductor
Idaho Falls Symphony
Frontier Center for the Performing Arts
November 21, 2026
Hanson, Perttu, and Moncayo
Guest Conductor
The Chapman Orchestra
Musco Center for the Arts
November 6, 2026
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5
Music Director
California Music Educators Association
Bay Section Honors Orchestra
October 29-31, 2026
TBD
Guest Conductor
The Chapman Orchestra
Musco Center for the Arts
October 10, 2026
TBD
Music Director
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
Hollywood Bowl
September 20, 2026
Gregory Alan Isakov
Cover Conductor
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
Hollywood Bowl
August 15, 2026
Top Gun: Maverick in Concert
Cover Conductor
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
Hollywood Bowl
August 9, 2026
How to Train Your Dragon in Concert
Cover Conductor
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
Hollywood Bowl
August 2, 2026
St. Vincent
Cover Conductor
Sinfonieorchester Villingen-Schwenningen
Franziskaner Konzerthaus
July 25, 2026
Dvorak Symphony No. 9
Gershwin Piano Concerto
Aurelia Visovan, piano
Guest Conductor
The Chapman Orchestra
Musco Center for the Arts
May 16, 2026
Max Richter/Vivaldi Recomposed
Mozart "La Vendetta"
Saint-Saens Piano Concerto No. 2
Dan Forrest Requiem for the Living
Conductor
University of Hawaii at Mānoa
Symphony Orchestra
April 19, 2026
Guest Conductor
Las Vegas
March 25-28, 2026
Orchestra Festival
Adjudicator/Clinician
Portola Performing Arts Center
March 19, 2026
Orchestra Festival
Adjudicator/Clinician
The Chapman Orchestra
Musco Center for the Arts
February 11, 2026
Martha Graham Dance Company
Music Director
The Chapman Orchestra
Musco Center for the Arts
December 5 & 6, 2025
Wassail Holiday Concert
Conductor
Chamber Music & Orchestra Festival
Musco Center for the Arts
November 8, 2025
Chapman University Invitational
Music Director
The Chapman Orchestra
Musco Center for the Arts
October 24, 2025
Star Wars A New Hope in Concert
Music Director
Los Angeles Philharmonic
September 29, 2025
RY X with Orchestra
Disney Concert Hall
Guest Conductor
Association of California Symphony Orchestras
August 7, 2025
Speaking at "The Conservatory’s Role in Shaping the Canon"
Guest Speaker
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Hollywood Bowl
July 2-4, 2025
July 4th Fireworks with Earth, Wind & Fire
Cover Conductor
Santa Monica Symphony
Barnum Hall
May 10, 2025
Strauss, Holst, Hisaishi, John Williams
Guest Conductor
Chapman Opera
Musco Center for the Arts
April 25 & 27, 2025
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Conductor
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
Walt Disney Concert Hall
April 19, 2025
Cody Fry
Cover Conductor
Sinfonieorchester Villingen-Schwenningen
Franziskaner Konzerthaus
March 30, 2025
Cherubini, Beethoven, and Bizet
Ioana Goicea, violin
Guest Conductor
The Chapman Orchestra
Musco Center for the Arts
March 14/15, 2025
Mahler Symphony No. 1
Music Director
LA Soundscape Orchestra
Evergreen Studios Burbank
March 1, 2025
Principal Conductor
Joshua Bell & Larisa Martinez
McCallum Theatre
February 12, 2025
Moderator
University of California, Irvine
February 9, 2025
Concerto Competition
Adjudicator
San Diego Symphony
McCallum Theatre
February 2, 2025
Beethoven & Prokofiev
Pre-concert talk
Claremont Youth Symphony Orchestra
January 14, 2025
Guest Conductor
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
Walt Disney Concert Hall
January 10, 2025
Cody Fry
Cover Conductor
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
January 3-5, 2025
Beethoven and Dvorak
Lisa Batiashvili, violin
Cover Conductor
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
Walt Disney Concert Hall
December 21/22, 2024
Home Alone in Concert
Cover Conductor
Kennesaw State University
Bailey School of Music
Bailey Performance Center
September 6, 2024
Holst's Planets
Guest Conductor
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
Hollywood Bowl
July 19/20, 2024
Disney '80s-'90s Celebration in Concert
Cover Conductor
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Hollywood Bowl
July 6, 2024
Beck
Cover Conductor
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Hollywood Bowl
July 2-4, 2024
July 4th Fireworks & Harry Connick, Jr.
Cover Conductor
Chapman Opera
Musco Center for the Arts
April 19/21, 2024
Mozart's Il sogno di Scipione
Moran's From the Towers of the Moon
Conductor
The Chapman Orchestra
Musco Center for the Arts
March 10, 2024
Bizet
Milena Kitič, voice (LA Opera)
Music Director
The Chapman Orchestra
Musco Center for the Arts
March 8, 2024
Bizet, Dubois, and Rodriguez
Milena Kitič, voice (LA Opera)
Music Director
Imperial Valley Music Educators’ Association
El Centro
February 24, 2024
Guest Conductor
The Chapman Orchestra
Musco Center for the Arts
December 8/9, 2023
Holiday Wassail Concert
Orchestra Conductor
UCLA
Herb Alpert School of Music
All-star concerto competition
November 18, 2023
Adjudicator
The Chapman Orchestra
Musco Center for the Arts
November 10, 2023
Dvorak & Verdi
Music Director
The Chapman Orchestra
Musco Center for the Arts
September 29, 2023
Disney's The Little Mermaid in Concert
Music Director
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Hollywood Bowl
July 18/19, 2023
Tchaikovsky Spectacular with Fireworks
Bruce Liu, piano
Cover Conductor
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Hollywood Bowl
August 17, 2023
Shostakovich and Dvorak
Sterling Elliott, cello
Cover Conductor
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Hollywood Bowl
August 15, 2023
Berlioz and Ravel
Cover Conductor
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Hollywood Bowl
August 10, 2023
Sibelius and Grieg
Anton Mejias, piano
Cover Conductor
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Hollywood Bowl
August 8, 2023
Elgar and Beethoven
Eric Lu, piano
Cover Conductor
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
May 5-7, 2023
Dvorak and Bruckner
Martin Chalifour, violin
Cover Conductor
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
Walt Disney Concert Hall
December 20-22, 2022
Home Alone in Concert
Cover Conductor
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
Walt Disney Concert Hall
October 21/22, 2022
Café Tacvba
Cover Conductor
Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Ford
July 9, 2022
Devonté Hynes
Cover Conductor
Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Ford
July 7, 2022
Vivian Fung and Gabriela Smith
Cover Conductor
Los Angeles Philharmonic
World Disney Concert Hall
May 17/18, 2022
Media Captures w/Gustavo Dudamel
Smith, Montgomery, Glass, Reich, Adams
Cover Conductor
Los Angeles Philharmonic
World Disney Concert Hall
November 26 & 28, 2022
Brahms and Korngold
Nicola Benedetti, violin
Cover Conductor
Los Angeles Philharmonic
World Disney Concert Hall
July 22, 2022
Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky
Lukáš Vondráček, piano
Cover Conductor
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