‘A “Who’s Who” of intercultural music-making in Australia in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Essential reading for anyone with an interest in the history of music in Australia’ — Jim Franklin, composer
‘A colourful and eventful journey of courage and determination’ — Sandra Ridgewell, musicologist
‘A life made rich by a passion for music … a hugely enjoyable and compelling read’ — Bruce Elder, journalist
At fifteen, Michael Atherton landed in Sydney carrying one thing only: a cheap guitar he didn’t know how to play. By the 1990s he was Foundation Professor of Music at the University of Western Sydney, drawing on his self-taught, working-class background to become the driving force behind an innovative, community-minded approach to music education. In 2018, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in recognition of his service to the performing arts.
Michael is a multi-instrumentalist whose musical interests range from rock-and-roll to early music and folk, exploring new combinations of instruments both ancient and new. He has played in rock bands, early music and folk groups, cross-cultural groups Sirocco and Southern Crossings and the electroacoustic Sync, and composed extensively for TV, film, and performance.
His story is one of prodigious energy, of adaptability, and of always being open to new understanding and new opportunities. He has striven especially to challenge snobbery in music and to celebrate diversity, collaboration and community.

Michael Atherton
About the author
Emeritus Professor Michael Atherton AM is an Australian musician, composer, academic, and author. Born in Liverpool, England, he migrated to Australia with his family in 1965, aged 15. Through sport and music, he integrated into the working-class, multicultural society of western Sydney, and went on to an illustrious career including international performances, founding a music department, and ethnomusicological research into oceanic musical instruments and intercultural music practices. He helped pioneer music therapy in Australia, working as a therapist, establishing a postgraduate music therapy centre and clinic and supervising doctoral students. He has served on government arts funding committees and authored several books. In 1990 he was appointed Foundation Professor of Music at the University of Western Sydney. He has composed extensively for TV, film and performance. In 2018, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in recognition of his service to the performing arts.
Also by Michael Atherton
The ABC Book of Musical Instruments
Musical Instruments and Sound-Producing Objects of Oceania: The collections of the Australian Museum
Australian Made… Australian Played…. Handcrafted musical
instruments from didjeridu to synthesizer
A Coveted Possession: The rise and fall of the piano in Australia
In Exile From St Petersburg: The life and times of Abram Saulovich
Kagan, Book Publisher (with Anatol Kagan)
Poems of a Single Breath