Chief Conductor at the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra since January 2021, Dawid Runtz is increasingly recognized internationally for his impeccable, elegant technique, thorough command of complex scores, extraordinary sensitivity, effective communication, and uniquely evocative performances. Dawid Runtz works with orchestras around the world, including Staatskapelle Weimar, Warsaw Philharmonic, Sinfonieorchester Liechtenstein, Prague Philharmonia, RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, Slovak Philharmonic, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra and many others. In the years 2017-2024, he served as Principal Conductor at the Polish Royal Opera in Warsaw.

The Polish conductor has received numerous conducting awards, including in 2024  the Polish national “Jan Kiepura Theatre Music Award" in the category “the best conductor,” and in 2022 the Croatian Prize “Orlando” for artistic achievements, awarded by Croatian Radio and Television HRT and the Ministry of Culture.

His work with the ZPO led to critically acclaimed performances of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, describing him as “born to conduct” (Jutarnij list). In 2021 Dawid Runtz led Zagreb Philharmonic during George Enescu Festival in Bucharest, receiving positive reviews, and in January 2020, conducted the concert celebrating the official assumption of the presidency of the Council of European Union by Croatia at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, which ultimately determined his current tenure with the ensemble, after successfully touring the Orchestra in Kuwait earlier that season.

Dawid’s recent guest conducting projects include conducting the Sinfonieorchester Liechtenstein during ceremonial concerts in Strasbourg in 2024, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the European Commission; his Japanese debut with the Pacific Festival Orchestra in Sapporo, conducting Strauss’s Don Juan at the closing concert; a tour of Lithuania with the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Poland regaining independence; the opening concert of the Krzysztof Penderecki Festival with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra on the occasion of the composer’s 85th birthday; a concert with the same orchestra at the 10th La Folle Journée festival; and leading the Polish Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra at the 25th Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival in Warsaw.

From the 2023/24 season, Dawid together with Zagreb Philharmonic records two albums a year for the NAXOS label as part of the new project "Croatian Music”.