Short biography
Michael Whiticker studied composition in Sydney and Berlin, beginning his Bachelor of Music in 1979 and completing his Doctorate in 1998. He has had a major career in the arts internationally and in Australia with residencies and commissions with most major Australian performing groups. International commissions have come from Germany, Canada, Sweden, Korea and Holland. He had a full-time composer-in-residence position with bodies such as the Australian Opera in 1987 and in 1992/93 he was appointed to a two year Composer-In-Residence position with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. This was followed by full-time lecturing duties at the University of Western Sydney (1994 - 96) and James Cook University (1997 - 98). In 1991 he received a Sounds Australian Award for his organisation of 'The Antipodes' – a festival of Australian music in Berlin. He has served on numerous music committees, has been a board member of a range of organisations including the Australian Music Centre and represented Australian music on a range of panels here and overseas including Australian delegate to the 1992 Asian Music Festival in New Zealand. He has a long history of working closely with dance and theatre companies as a collaborative artist and consultant and has edited various contemporary music publications and been a freelance contemporary music writer/presenter for the ABC and 2MBSFM.
Today he lives in the Glasshouse Mountains on the Sunshine Coast, and works as a freelance composer, music technologist, video maker, performer, workshop facilitator, director and arts event manager. He directs his own studio - the Sound Space - offering a range of arts workshops and professional recording facilities to the local community.