The Emergence of Contemporary Percussion in Australia: 1960-1975

Over the past forty years, contemporary percussion music has assumed an increasingly prominent role in Australian classical music performance and composition; however, no research has been undertaken to record how or why this prolific field of Australian music emerged in the 1970s. This paper closes a gap in Australian contemporary music history by examining the historical contexts that fostered the emergence of an Australian percussion scene in the 1960s and 1970s. An examination of significant events and individuals in the field that effected change is offered, using Australia's first professional percussion ensemble, the Australian Percussion Ensemble, as a case study.