William Barton is an Aboriginal Australian composer and multi-instrumentalist, known for his and didgeridoo (yidaki) playing, particularly with classical orchestras.
He learned to play didgeridoo at the age of 11 from Uncle Arthur Peterson,[2] an elder of the Wannyi, Lardil, and Kalkadungu peoples of Western Queensland.
Career
By the age of 12 Barton was working in Sydney, playing for Aboriginal dance troupes. At the age of 15 he toured America, after which he decided he wanted to become a soloist rather than a backing musician and started to study different kinds of music. In 1998, he made his classical debut with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, and became Australia's first didgeridoo artist-in-residence with a symphony orchestra.[3]
Barton moved to Brisbane at the age of 17, Barton became a soloist with several classical orchestras.[4]
Barton has said, "The yidaki embodies everything of the land, because it's from the tree, it’s the breath of life and the land, of sustenance to us as human beings. It embodies the history of those old trees. The yidaki has memories, it's the breath of our ancestors, particularly when the instrument is passed on physically from one person to the next."[2] He has also expressed his wish "to take the oldest culture in the world and blend it with Europe's rich musical legacy".[5]
In 2005, Barton performed at the 90th anniversary Gallipoli at ANZAC Cove, Turkey, and in debut concerts with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at Royal Festival Hall in London.[5] In 2005/2006, Barton collaborated with orchestras, choral directors and composers in Australia, America and Europe, developing new commissions for the didgeridoo.[10]
In 2004, he was awarded the Brisbane Lord Mayor's Young and Emerging Artists' Fellowship,[18] and the following year he was a metropolitan finalist for the Suncorp Young Queenslander of the Year Award.[19]
AIR Awards
The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987.
The Don Banks Music Award was established in 1984 to publicly honour a senior artist of high distinction who has made an outstanding and sustained contribution to music in Australia.[29] It was founded by the Australia Council in honour of Don Banks, Australian composer, performer and the first chair of its music board.
The Queensland Music Awards (previously known as the Q Song Awards) are an annual awards ceremony celebrating Queensland's brightest emerging artists and established legends. They commenced in 2006.[34]
