From 1948 Dreyfus played bassoon in J. C. Williamson's touring orchestra, accompanying opera and ballet companies before joining the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (then known as the Victorian SO) in 1953.
He composed the operas Rathenau (premiered 1993 at the Staatstheater Kassel), Die Marx Sisters (premiered 1996 at the Bielefeld Opera)[REF] and The Takeover (1970)[REF] which had its European premiere in 1997 in Germany [REF].