He was hired as a trumpeter by the so-called Second Division Ensemble in Oslo, where he played between 1945 and 1946, and by the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra in 1946, where he played between 1946 and 1966. He made his debut as an orchestra conductor with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra in 1954.[1]
Bruland won the 1st prize in the international conducting competition in Liverpool in 1958, and the conducting prize in Tanglewood, USA (Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer music school, Berkshire Musical Centre) in 1959.[citation needed]