Dr Robert Davidson is a prolific composer, bassist, lecturer and founder and artistic director of Topology, ensemble-in-residence at the Brisbane Powerhouse and a Key Organisation in the Australia Council’s funding structure. Davidson studied composition with Terry Riley in California before completing a composition PhD at the University of Queensland, included on the Dean’s list of outstanding PhDs in 2003.
Davidson’s studies with Riley were made possible by a Churchill Fellowship, during which he also consulted many leading composers in the US and Europe. He previously studied South Indian vocal music in Kerala, India.
Davidson was a bassist in the Australian Opera, Sydney Symphony, and Queensland Symphony orchestras before commencing his current career as a music lecturer. He has been featured as a bassist in the Darwin International Guitar Festival, performing chamber works with John Williams, and with the Brodsky Quartet.
Davidson’s compositions are regularly performed, recorded and broadcast around the world. All of Australia’s professional orchestras and many leading soloists and ensembles have commissioned and performed his works. He has received many commissions for major works from festivals including the Qld Music Festival, Brisbane Festival, Sydney Festival, Olympics Arts Festival, Castlemaine Festival and many others. With Topology he has released six CD albums and a DVD, and has directed numerous collaborations with artists including The Kransky Sisters, Gerry Connolly, Kate Miller-Heidke, Katie Noonan, Robert Forster, the Southern Cross Soloists, Misinterprotato and others.
Web: http://www.uq.edu.au/music/dr-robert-davidson (2014)