- Doctor of Musical Arts (University of California, San Diego, USA)
- Master of Arts (University of California, San Diego, USA)
- Bachelor of Music (Distinction) (University of Adelaide)
- Diploma of Music (Distinction) (Adelaide Institute of TAFE, School of Music)
Head of Percussion
Associate Professor in Music
Contact details for Assoc Prof Vanessa Tomlinson
Professional page for Assoc Prof Vanessa Tomlinson
Research/Creative Expertise
- Specialist percussion performance; solo repertoire, contemporary chamber music, and improvisation; particular interest in performance practice of composers Erik Griswold, Anthony Pateras, Vinko Globokar, Brian Ferneyhough, Morton Feldman and Steve Reich;
- Recordings include Xenakis: Complete Works (Mode Records – with red fish blue fish), Fish Boast of Fishing (Listen Hear Colective with Peter Knight), Mutant Theatre (Tzadik, the music of Anthony Pateras), Solo works of Brian Ferneyhough (Etcetera with Elision Ensemble) Every Night the Same Dream, Water Pushes Sand, Foreign Objects (Clocked Out label with Clocked Out Duo) and The Wide Alley (Clocked Out label with 5 Chinese/5 Australian artists).
- Specialist in Sichuan Opera Percussion (Chuanju);
- Developed new work/collaborations with Bonemap, Circa, Topology, Double Venturi, Elision, Twitch, Australian Voices, The Australian Art Orchestra;
- Collaborated with percussionists Michael Askill, Claire Edwardes, Speak Percussion, Fritz Hauser, Jan Williams, Steven Schick, Graeme Leak
- Collaborated with musicians such as Richard Haynes, Timothy Munro, David Chesworth, Jane Rigler, Natasha Anderson, Anthony Pateras, Erkki Veltheim, Richard Nunns, Marcos Fernandez, Ben Marks.
- Significant international performances include Bang on a Can Marathon (NY), Wein Modern Festival, Green Umbrella Series (LA), London Jazz Festival, Beijing Modern Music Festival, Auckland International Festival of Arts, Adelaide Festival of Arts, Sydney Spring New Music Festival, Big Sur Experimental Music Festival.
- Development significant community research projects including Sounding the Condamine (2009), Myall Park Open Day (2009), Radio Plays with Queensland Music Festival (2011).
Current Teaching Areas
- Percussion department individual tuition
- Director of Ba Da Boom Percussion Ensemble
- Director of QCGU New Music Ensemble
- Lecturer in Women in Music, Performance Practice of 20th and 21st Century Music
- Developing course in Sound and the Environment
- Supervisor of Honours, Masters, DMA and PhD students
Other Experience
- Co-artistic Director of Clocked Out
- Member of the Australian Art Orchestra
- Councillor for the Music Council of Australia
- Artistic Director, Australian Percussion Gathering 2010
- Head of Performance Studies, Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University (2006-10)