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  • Mr Tim White

    Mr Tim White

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Mr Tim White OAM

Senior Lecturer

Staff Member Details
Telephone: +61 8 6304 6117
Mobile: 0478 630 900
Email: t.white@ecu.edu.au
Campus: Mount Lawley  
Room: ML1.116  
ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6620-3474

Tim is Coordinator of Classical Music at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. He leads WAAPA’s percussion programme, and directs the Indian Ocean Ensemble and Defying Gravity percussion.

Background

Tim White is Co-ordinator of Classical Music at WAAPA. He has led WAAPA’s percussion programme since 1994, oversees all of WAAPA’s classical ensembles, supervises postgraduate students, and directs the award-winning ‘Defying Gravity’ percussion ensemble.

Tim played more than 3,000 concerts with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra - where he was Principal Percussionist for 28 years – and performed with all ten of Australia’s professional symphony and theatre orchestras. As a concerto soloist, Tim performed the Australian and German premieres of Per Norgard’s ‘Percussion Concerto’ as well as the WA premieres of percussion concertos by Richard Mills, Paul Creston and Darius Milhaud. He’s also performed as a soloist for the Perth Festival.

Tim was born in Canberra and grew up on Christmas Island. As a teenager he fell in love with The Beatles, got hooked on classical music and took up percussion, studying in Sydney, Denmark, Germany and the USA. He holds two Masters degrees in music performance, won a Churchill Fellowship in 1999, and a Fulbright Scholar Award in 2021.

In 2015 Tim won the federal government’s ‘Australian Award for Teaching Excellence’, and in 2021 he was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for his services to music.

Tim has performed with Ray Charles, Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras, Dame Joan Sutherland, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Charles Dutoit, James Galway, Sumi Jo, Midori, Bryn Terfel, Joshua Bell, Nigel Kennedy, John Williams, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Ben Folds, Tim Minchin, Jon Lord, Glen Campbell, Dionne Warwick, John Farnham, Gary Burton and Chick Corea.

  • 2016 - present - Coordinator of Classical Music
  • 1994 - present - Senior Lecturer in Music, Area Head of Percussion and Musical Director of WAAPA’s ‘Defying Gravity’ percussion ensemble
  • 1985 - 2013 - Principal Percussionist of the WA Symphony Orchestra
  • 2010 - Musical Director of Australian Youth Orchestra’s ‘National Music Camp’
  • 2003 - Musical Director of Australian National Academy of Music’s ‘Rhythms of Life’ Festival
  • 1983-84 - Principal Percussionist of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
  • 1981-83 - freelance performer with Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra Victoria

Professional associations

  • Percussive Arts Society
  • Music Council of Australia
  • Australian Music Centre
  • Musicological Society of Australia
  • ABODA WA

Awards and recognition

National and International awards

  • 2021 - Medal of the Order of Australia
  • 2010 - Musical Director of Australian Youth Orchestra’s National Music Camp
  • 2003 - Director of Australian National Academy of Music’s ‘Rhythms of Life’ percussion festival
  • 1999 - Churchill Fellowship
  • 1991/92 - German Government DAAD Scholarship

University and National Teaching awards

  • 2015 - Australian Award for Teaching Excellence
  • 2014 - ECU Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching

National and International Research awards

  • 2021 - Fulbright Scholar Award

Research areas and interests

  • Contemporary Percussion
  • New Music
  • Multi-Genre Collaboration
  • Orchestral Music
  • Art of Performance
  • Performance Psychology
  • Music Education

Qualifications

  • Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, National Registered Provider, 2022.
  • Certificate IV in Assessment & Workplace Training, TAFE WA, 2005.
  • Meisterklassendiplom, Germany, 1994.
  • Master of Music, The University of Western Australia, 1992.
  • Bachelor of Music, The University of Sydney, 1987.

Research Outputs

2023

Creative Arts Research Outputs

  • White, T. (2023). Hiding the Mechanics and Avoiding Dead Air: designing a seamless, innovative and captivating WAAPA Music Gala performance. [Musical Performance]. Perth Concert Hall.
  • Paget, J., Abbey, N., Oehlers, J., White, T., Ding, W., Huang, C., Lancaster, G., Ling, S., Ling, K., Tang, Z., Wang, Y., Ye, D. (2023). Nanjing Epiphanies. [video files, sound files]. Nanjing University of the Arts: Recital Hall (9th), Popular Music Theatre (13th), Experimental Theatre (15th). https://doi.org/NA.
  • White, T. (2023). Drums are the new violins: interrogating the role of percussion in a world in crisis. [Musical performances and published videos]. Youtube, and WAAPA at Edith Cowan University.

2022

Creative Arts Research Outputs

  • White, T. (2022). Dangerous Liaisons: new creative directions for the percussionist/composer in the post-COVID age. [Live performance and recorded video]. Richard Gill Auditorium, WA Academy of Performing Arts, Edith Cowan University.

2021

Creative Arts Research Outputs

  • White, T. (2021). Shock of the New: 18 world premieres transforming the percussion ensemble through novel repertoire and new performance practices. [Musical Performance]. Fremantle Arts Centre, Perth Concert Hall and WA Academy of Performing Arts.

2020

Creative Arts Research Outputs

  • White, T. (2020). ‘WAAPA Live at the Rechabite’ and ‘Defying Gravity Flies Solo’: new performance paradigms in Pandemic Art. [Musical performance livestreamed on Facebook]. Performances livestreamed world-wide on Facebook from The Rechabite Hall (Northbridge Perth) and WAAPA (ECU).
  • White, T. (2020). Brave the Wave : leveraging COVID isolation to create new knowledge and innovation in Pandemic Art. [Multi-tracked audio/video recording]. Tim White. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/av_collection/89.

2019

Creative Arts Research Outputs

  • White, T. (2019). Striking Innovations – interrogating the role of gesture and theatricality in contemporary percussion performance practice. Fremantle Arts Centre and the WA Academy of Performing Arts. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuworkspost2013/8869.

2018

Creative Arts Research Outputs

  • White, T. (2018). Percussion as Theatre: reconsidering the percussion ensemble via novel repertoire. Fremantle Arts Centre, Perth Concert Hall, ABC TV, WA Academy of Performing Arts, Edith Cowan University. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/av_collection/41.

2017

Creative Arts Research Outputs

  • White, T. (2017). Defying Gravity: Steve Reich Under The Stars at Fremantle Arts Centre. Fremantle Arts Centre.
  • White, T. (2017). Interrogating the Interface between Sound and Light: Eleven World Premiere Performances in Defying Gravity’s Kaboom!. WAAPA at Edith Cowan University.
  • White, T. (2017). Hit Parade Festival of Innovation and New Music in Percussion. WAAPA at Edith Cowan University, and Methodist Ladies College.

2016

Creative Arts Research Outputs

  • White, T. (2016). Drums are the New Violins: New works and innovative techniques with Defying Gravity. Fremantle Arts Centre and Edith Cowan University.
  • White, T. (2016). Sound Disintegration: new works at the 2016 Australian Percussion Gathering. Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University.

2015

Creative Arts Research Outputs

  • White, T. (2015). Defying Gravity’s ‘Stereo Action’ - Music Director. WAAPA Music Auditorium.

2014

Creative Arts Research Outputs

  • White, T. (2014). The Fire and the Rose: Baroque and Classical Timpani Performance. Albert Hall, Canberra.
  • White, T. (2014). Defying Gravity’s ‘Fascinating Rhythms’ : Creating New Performance Paradigms. WAAPA Music Auditorium.
  • White, T., Wickham, D. (2014). Petrushka, Concerto in G and O Fortuna Re-imagined and Re-invented for Percussion. WAAPA Music Auditorium.
  • White, T., Everall, P. (2014). Inventing a New World: New Music for Percussion and Clarinet. WAAPA Music Auditorium.
  • White, T. (2014). Multi-Percussion Innovation in Igor Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale. WAAPA Music Auditorium.
  • White, T. (2014). Defying Gravity: ‘Fiesta!’ : Establishing New Directions in Percussion. WAAPA Music Auditorium.
  • White, T. (2014). Three Faces of Contemporary Percussion : WAAPA Direct. Fremantle Arts Centre, Perth.
  • White, T., Devenish, L. (2014). 2014 WA Day of Percussion: Synthesizing and Creating Knowledge in Contemporary Percussion. WAAPA Music Auditorium; Handa Percussion Studio.

2013

Creative Arts Research Outputs

  • Wickham, D., White, T. (2013). An American in Paris and Rhapsody in Blue. Music Auditorium, WAAPA.
  • White, T. (2013). Defying Gravity: ‘Drumming Up A Storm’. WAAPA Music Auditorium.
  • White, T. (2013). Carmina Burana and Rio Grande. St Georges Cathedral, Perth.
  • White, T. (2013). Inuksuit by John Luther Adams - Defying Gravity. Ron Stone Park, Mount Lawley, Perth.
  • White, T. (2013). Handel's Messiah. Perth Concert Hall.
  • White, T. (2013). Carnivale! and Freddy Poncin - Defying Gravity. WAAPA Music Auditorium.
  • White, T. (2013). Mozart's Mass in C Minor & Requiem. Perth Concert Hall.
  • White, T. (2013). The Antihero Suite, Living Toys and Frankenstein. Fremantle Arts Centre.
  • White, T. (2013). 2013 WA Day of Percussion. WAAPA.

2012

Creative Arts Research Outputs

  • White, T. (2012). Inuksuit. South Lawn at Melbourne University.
  • White, T. (2012). Defying Gravity: 25th Birthday Celebrations - Music Director. WAAPA Music Auditorium.
  • White, T. (2012). Tim White and WA Symphony Orchestra. Perth Concert Hall, His Majesty's Theatre, Astor Theatre etc.
  • White, T. (2012). Defying Gravity Percussion Ensemble - Music Director. Fremantle Arts Centre, Perth.
  • White, T. (2012). Thunderstruck - Music Director. WAAPA Music Auditorium.
  • White, T. (2012). Western Australian Day of Percussion. WAAPA Music Auditorium.
  • White, T. (2012). Defying Gravity in Sounds Outback (... to Reef ). Exmouth Oval, Shothole Canyon, Ningaloo Sunrise Beach, Bullara Station.

2011

Creative Arts Research Outputs

  • White, T. (2011). Defying Gravity - Stereo Action with Tim White. Burswood Grand Ballroom.
  • White, T. (2011). Tim White and West Australian Symphony Orchestra. Perth Concert Hall.
  • White, T. (2011). Defying Gravity presents 'Marimba Magic'. WAAPA Music Auditorium.
  • White, T. (2011). Commonwealth Festival Perth 2011 - Opening Celebration Performance. Supreme Court Gardens.
  • White, T. (2011). Defying Gravity presents 'Virtuoso!'. WAAPA Music Auditorium.
  • White, T. (2011). CHOGM Opening Ceremony. Riverside Theatre, Perth Convention and Entertainment Centre.

2010

Creative Arts Research Outputs

  • White, T. (2010). Andrew Ford: A Dream of Drowning - Percussion. Perth Concert Hall.
  • White, T. (2010). Kaija Saariaho: Laterna Magica - Percussion. Perth Concert Hall.
  • White, T. (2010). Sir John Tavener: Little Ceremonial - Percussion. Perth Concert Hall.
  • White, T. (2010). Ross Edwards: Elegies and Epiphanies - Percussion. Perth Concert Hall.
  • White, T. (2010). The Roots of Rhythm - Director. Midland Junction Arts Centre.

2009

Creative Arts Research Outputs

  • White, T. (2009). Anderson And Kats-Chernin Premieres. Perth Concert Hall.
  • White, T. (2009). Ledger And Lindberg Premieres. Perth Concert Hall.
  • White, T. (2009). John Adams: A Flowering Tree. Perth Concert Hall.

2004

Creative Arts Research Outputs

  • White, T. (2004). Defying Gravity: ABC Classic FM Recording. Tim White.

2003

Creative Arts Research Outputs

  • White, T. (2003). WA Percussion Showcase at the Australian National University. ANU Arts Centre Theatre in Canberra.

Research Student Supervision

Current Supervisions

No data available

Completed Supervisions

Associate Supervisor

  • Master of Arts (Performing Arts), Creating and performing new Australian works on the hungarian concert cimbalom.
  • Master of Arts (Performing Arts), Practicing jazz performance: An investigation into the process that underpins optimal instrumental practice in the jazz idiom.

Assistant Supervisor

  • Doctor of Philosophy, The ‘Marimba-Vibe’ Double Keyboard: An Explorative Investigation of a Nascent Solo Percussion Idiom
  • Master of Arts (Performing Arts), Exploring a Feminist reclamation of Medea through Percussion Theatre
  • Master of Arts (Performing Arts), Examination of the Evolution of Multi-percussion
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