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MEDIA RELEASE
Young master of Didgeridoo wins prestigious award
Growing up in Mount Isa, William Barton had a father who strummed country and western tunes on the guitar and a mother with a powerful operatic voice. But it was his uncle playing Didgeridoo which really captured Barton's imagination - and the instrument became Barton's own chosen path in life.
Now the 23-year-old will embark on further artistic development after being granted the prestigious Lord Mayor's Young and Emerging Artists' Fellowship for 2004.
Barton, of Moorooka in Brisbane's south, was nominated for the award by Griffith University's new Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre (QCRC) where he will now be working with staff and students.
Barton says he feels honoured to receive the award, which will allow him to continue in his quest to firmly position the Didgeridoo in contemporary Australian music.
"This prize will enable me to further my artistic development, and enable me to share my music with more audiences, he said.
"I also feel it is a sign of respect for the traditional ties I have as an Indigenous artist working with musicians from various backgrounds. It will also strengthen links between Brisbane City Council, the Queensland Conservatorium and myself. QCRC director Huib Schippers is excited about the possibilities the Fellowship creates both for the young didgeridoo master and for the university's conservatorium.
"William Barton is a truly remarkable musical presence in Brisbane. With his work as a performer, teacher and community musician, he seems to effortlessly bridge gaps between traditional Aboriginal and contemporary Australian cultural realities, Professor Schippers said.
"As part of the plan that underlies the Fellowship, William will interact with students and staff of the Conservatorium at various levels: in performance, composition, music technology, teaching and learning, and in research. "In that way, we can build towards a productive and lasting dialogue between Indigenous and other forms of music, which is long overdue in much of the established music world. William's input in this process is invaluable.
Barton's recent credentials include receiving the Freedman Fellowship of the Music Council of Australia last year, and a starring role in Peter Sculthorpe's Requiem, which premiered at the Adelaide festival in March. Work in the pipeline includes collaboration with The Australian Voices, Isorhythmos, US-composer William Duckworth, and a number of orchestras in Australia and beyond, culminating in a UK appearance with the London Philharmonic in May 2005
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