William Barton
William Barton is an Aboriginal Australian yidaki (didgeridoo) player, composer and multi-instrumentalist from the Kalkadungu people of Queensland. He is known for bringing the instrument into classical orchestral and contemporary concert music.
Born in Mount Isa, he learned the didgeridoo as a boy and later became a soloist and artist-in-residence with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. As a performer and composer he has taken the yidaki onto major concert stages in Australia and abroad, working to blend the oldest living culture with Europe’s classical tradition. He has received the Don Banks Music Award and the Richard Gill Award for distinguished service to Australian music.
On Tall Poppies his didgeridoo features in the collaborative long-form work Two Step (TP261).
William Barton appears on
Two Step
Recorded in Berlin, Brisbane and Tel Aviv, this is a truly international project. Cathy Milliken, an Australian oboist and composer based in Berlin, works with some of the finest contemporary performers available.