On the Verandah - William Barton

Birdsong at Dusk ABC Classic 4810962
Presented by Julia Lester

William Barton has an international reputation as one of our finest didgeridoo players and composers. He's managed to find a musical place that keeps true to his Aboriginal culture, and also reaches deeply into western music, in particular contemporary classical music.

He learned to play from his uncle , an elder of the Waanyi, Lardil and Kalkadunga tribes of western Queensland. By the time he was 17,William had played his first classical concert with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. Since then, he has played his way around the globe. He's toured the USA with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Italy with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, collaborated with major composers such as Peter Sculthorpe, Ross Edwards, Liza Lim, Philip Bracanin,and George Warren from the USA.

His Album Kalkadungu won the 2013 ARIA Award for Best Classical Album.

This week, you'll hear from his latest ABC Classics release , Birdsong at Dusk, inspired by the sounds of birds and the ocean "as the sun drifted to meet the sky" at a friend's beach house in Macaky,Queensland. He's joined by the Kurilpa String Quartet, his mother singer Delmae Barton and John Rodgers on violin