William Barton & Tamara Anna Cislowska

Joint winners of the 2003 MCA Freedman Fellowship for Classical Music were William Barton, a didgeridoo player from Brisbane, and pianist Tamara Anna Cislowska from Sydney.

William Barton is recognised as one of Australia's leading players of the didgeridoo. His association, since 2001, with composer Peter Sculthorpe, has led to the inclusion of didgeridoo parts in several of Sculthorpe?s notable orchestral pieces, which William will record in September. In 2003 he was Artist-in-Residence with the Queensland Orchestra - the first appointment of an indigenous musician with an Australian symphony orchestra. He is committed to raising the profile of the didgeridoo to be alongside those of conventional orchestral instruments. www.didgesphere.com

Tamara Anna Cislowska, has performed as a soloist with all Australian symphony orchestras, Australian Chamber Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and Romanian Philharmonic Orchestra. She has given recitals throughout Australia and in Japan, New Zealand, England, Germany, The Netherlands and Ireland. She has made six recordings of composers ranging from Rawsthorne and Sculthorpe to Brahms and Mozart. Tamara has won numerous prizes including the Maria Callas Grand Prix Silver Medal, the David Landa Memorial Scholarship, and at the age of 14 was the youngest-ever winner of the ABC Young Performer of the Year.

Each winner received $9,000 cash towards the proposals they put forward as part of their applications and active support from Music Council personnel during the fellowship period.