Lyell Richard Cresswell (13 October 1944 – 19 March 2022)[1] was a New Zealand composer of contemporary classical music.

He studied at Victoria University under David Farquhar, Douglas Lilburn and Frederick Page, gaining a first-class honours degree in composition.

[2] Cresswell wrote music for orchestra, chamber ensembles, choir, voice and solo instruments.

[6] The Money Man, 2010, was written in collaboration with librettist Ron Butlin with whom Cresswell regularly worked.

[2] In 2013 he collaborated with writer Fiona Farrell to write the song cycle The Clock Stops; performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra it was inspired by the Christchurch earthquakes in 2010 and 2011.