Kalkadunga musician and composer Will Barton has joined Adelaide University's Centre for Aboriginal Studies in Music to mentor the next generation of musicians.

Mr Barton is widely recognised for expanding the possibilities of the yidaki by combining the traditional instrument with European classical music.

His appointment will give CASM students the opportunity to learn from a musician with more than 20 years of experience across classical, contemporary and cross-cultural performance.

Mr Barton described the role as an opportunity to share the knowledge he has developed throughout his career.

"I want the next generation of musicians and composers to feel that the sky is the limit," Mr Barton said.

"I feel CASM is the right fit for me over the next few years to explore my own ambition and adapt that to an academic situation.

"I'm reflecting on what I've done in my life, and I hope to be able to teach that back from a grassroots organic level."

Mr Barton grew up on Kalkadungu Country in Mount Isa and learned yidaki from his uncle, Wannyi, Lardil and Kalkadunga Elder Arthur Peterson.

He left school at the age of 12 to concentrate on music and had performed with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra by the time he was 17.

Mr Barton has since released five solo albums, received several national and state honours and been awarded multiple honorary doctorates.

CASM is part of the Elder Conservatorium of Music and School of Performing Arts and is Australia's oldest university-based centre dedicated to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music studies.

Mr Barton will work across outreach programs, songwriting, cultural maintenance and language revival through music.

He will also contribute to composition, teach yidaki and work with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra on a mentorship program.

"My role will be to expand students' improvisational skills and connect the dots between storytelling and technique," Mr Barton said.

"Technique is important, but it's also about the nuances of producing multiple textures, multiple landscape elements, and the unwritten process of learning an instrument or being a performer on stage."

Mr Barton said he remembered CASM from his youth and viewed the centre as a place where students could explore opportunities in Australia and overseas.

"CASM is a melting pot that keeps evolving here in Adelaide, in South Australia," Mr Barton said.

"It is already in some way an epicentre of cultural revolution and musicality, bringing out the best in students across the board - Indigenous and non-Indigenous. Having CASM here is a force to be reckoned with."

CASM Co-Directors Grayson Rotumah and Dr Dylan Crismani have known Mr Barton through the music industry for several years.

Discussions about a closer collaboration began while they were working together in Hong Kong in 2024 for the cross-cultural performance Coming Together.

Mr Rotumah said Mr Barton would bring a new perspective to the 50-year-old program.

"Will Barton's approach to songwriting and composition will bring a fresh perspective to a program that has been running for 50 years, while inspiring students through the experience of one of Indigenous Australia's most recognised artists," Mr Rotumah said.

"He is an all-round musician. He plays yidaki and guitar, he sings, and he has worked across classical music, rock and the arts, while remaining grounded in culture and community. That is at the heart of what CASM has always done."

Dr Crismani said the appointment strengthened CASM's position in Indigenous music education.

"William's appointment is hugely significant for CASM," Dr Crismani said.

"Having an artist of his calibre teaching our students reinforces CASM's standing as a leader in Indigenous music education."