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David Williams (didgeridoo)
Encyclopedia
Rockhampton, Queensland
Rockhampton is a city and local government area in Queensland, Australia. The city lies on the Fitzroy River, approximately from the river mouth, and some north of the state capital, Brisbane....
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, on 28 January 1983 and is an Australian musician and artist.
Life
David Williams is a descendant of the Wakka Wakka people from central southwest Queensland, he was brought up with his culture in suburban Rockhampton, QueenslandRockhampton, Queensland
Rockhampton is a city and local government area in Queensland, Australia. The city lies on the Fitzroy River, approximately from the river mouth, and some north of the state capital, Brisbane....
.
Learning traditional songs from his grandmother, David experienced first-hand the language and music of his people from an early age. Growing up in a musical family, he began learning the trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
from an early age. During his trombone studies, he would often cross over and play the didgeridoo
Didgeridoo
The didgeridoo is a wind instrument developed by Indigenous Australians of northern Australia around 1,500 years ago and still in widespread usage today both in Australia and around the world. It is sometimes described as a natural wooden trumpet or "drone pipe"...
as his skills as a brass player enabled him to develop his own style of blending traditional and contemporary didgeridoo.
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, New Zealand and San Francisco. He has performed with James Morrison
James Morrison (musician)
James Morrison AM is an Australian jazz musician who plays numerous instruments, but is best known for his trumpet playing...
and Jane Rutter
Jane Rutter
Jane Rutter is an Australian musician - a classical flautist with the ability to cross over into jazz and pop. She has performed in the UK, Europe, US, South-East Asia, the South Pacific, South America and China...
and in concert for John Travolta
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
. He has also collaborated with a number of ensembles and orchestras, performing Philip Bračanin
Philip Bračanin
Philip Bračanin is an Australian composer and musicologist. He graduated from the University of Western Australia in 1962 with bachelors degrees in mathematics and music. He pursued graduate studies at the same school in musicology and composition, earning an MA in 1968 and a PhD in 1970...
's Dance Gundah for didgeridoo and orchestra in 2006.
In November 2005 David performed with Jane Rutter
Jane Rutter
Jane Rutter is an Australian musician - a classical flautist with the ability to cross over into jazz and pop. She has performed in the UK, Europe, US, South-East Asia, the South Pacific, South America and China...
and James Morrison for the Qantas
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
85th Birthday. This highly successful event was celebrated with John Travolta
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
and the arrival of the Airbus A380
Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner manufactured by the European corporation Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. It is the largest passenger airliner in the world. Due to its size, many airports had to modify and improve facilities to accommodate it...
.
In January 2006 David traveled to Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
to perform with Bernadette Robinson and Paul Noonan for the celebration of direct flights between Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
. Two months later in March, David travelled to San Francisco to perform for the celebration of direct flights between Sydney and San Francisco.
In August 2008, David performed at the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and in March 2009, in Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
in a memorial service for victims of the bushfires in front of Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
, Prince Charles and Camilla.
Also an accomplished artist, David has spent much time developing an indigenous style that was traditional though unique and modern. His motivation to develop as a visual artist saw his collection of works increase, resulting in his first collaborative exhibition in 2003. David presented his first solo Australian exhibition in 2004 with his first overseas exhibition to follow in Sweden later that year. David's works now feature in private collections in Australia, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, England, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
David is currently Creative Director of Gilimbaa- An Indigenous Design Agency.
Through David's didgeridoo performances and traditional style paintings, he aims to further educate and encourage a wider understanding and appreciation of Aboriginal culture.