George Dreyfus was born in Wuppertal, Germany, in 1928 of Jewish background. In 1935 his family moved to Berlin to try to escape the increasing persecution of Jews in the area. He attended the Theordor Herzl School in Berlin until leaving Germany for Australia in 1939.
In Australia Dreyfus attended Spring Road Central School in Malvern and Melbourne High. There he became involved with the school orchestra and conducted the House Choir, thus beginning a long career in music. He worked as a carpet cleaner and for the ABC before being able to compose fulltime at home. The score for the television series Rush (1974) brought him considerable fame although he had been composing since 1956. His output includes four operas, two symphonies, chamber music and music for children. His other well-known scores include those for the television series Waterfront and Descant for Gossips.
