William Barton, born in Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia, is an Aboriginal Australian multi-instrumentalist known for his didgeridoo playing. He learned to play the instrument at age 11 from Uncle Arthur Peterson and began performing with Aboriginal dance troupes by age 12. Barton made his classical debut with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra in 1998 and became Australia's first didgeridoo artist-in-residence with a symphony orchestra. In 2004, he featured in Peter Sculthorpe’s Requiem, marking the first time a didgeridoo was used in a full symphonic work. Barton has collaborated extensively with orchestras worldwide and released notable albums such as Kalkadungu (2012), Birdsong at Dusk (2014), and Heartland (2022). He received the Queensland Australian of the Year award in November 2022 and became the first Indigenous artist to receive the Richard Gill Award for distinguished service to Australian music in 2023.
