As a conductor Gilder was an active choral director and arranger. In April 1951 he was appointed Musical Director of the 50-strong Ilford Girls' Choir and secured some high-profile bookings for them, including a live broadcast of Variety Bandbox on the BBC Light Programme, accompanying the young Julie Andrews. However, something went wrong and he resigned from the post in April 1952. He also arranged choral parts for Geraldo and his Orchestra (as chorus master of "the Geraldo Glee Club") and appeared at the Royal Festival Hall in London as a conductor and pianist. Gilder also wrote plays, poetry and fiction and contributed to music periodicals.