Square Circles

Composer, producer, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, William Barton is widely recognised as one of Australia’s leading didgeridoo players and composers.

For two decades, William has forged a peerless profile as a performer and composer in the classical musical world, from the Philharmonic Orchestras of London and Berlin to historic events at Westminster Abbey for Commonwealth Day 2019, Anzac Cove and the Beijing Olympics. His awards include Winner of Best Original Score for a Mainstage Production at the 2018 Sydney Theatre Awards and Winner of Best Classical Album with ARIA for Birdsong At Dusk in 2012. With his prodigious musicality and the quiet conviction of his Kalkadunga heritage, he has vastly expanded the horizons of the didgeridoo — and the culture and landscape that it represents.

Stephen King joined the Australian String Quartet as the viola player in 2012. Stephen loves the role of the viola in the string quartet, being both the agitator and the peacemaker, the push and the drag, the consonance and the dissonance, and always the meat in the sandwich. Music has taken Stephen to diverse venues and festivals around Australia and the world. With the ASQ, Stephen has been integral in the development of projects with First Nations artists, new Australian commissions and recordings, and innovative cross-artform collaborations.