Andrew Atwill BIOGRAPHY:

General: Andrew Atwill is a professional bass player, Arranger, Composer, Orchestrator, professional musician and bass teacher.
Atwill has been an Improvisation and  Orchestration teacher for twenty years and is a royalty recipient, a member of APRA, Australian Musicians Union life member and MAGA (Musicians and Arrangers Guild of Australia) member.  He has worked and/or toured in New Zealand, New York, San Francisco, Denver, Washington, Maine, Boston, Las Vegas, Montreal, Hawaii, Indonesia, Tahiti, Christmas Island, all states of Australia except Tasmania and most islands in the South Pacific, except for the Sandwich islands.  To date, he has performed on at least 38 recordings and albums.

• ALBUMS by ATWILL:
•  “Somewhere” with Trevor Davy, Karen O’Shea, Brett Spilsbury received major Producer interest but no Record Label interest.
• “Andy Atwill Quintet”  (Music on CD). This Quartet comprised well-known Mainstream Australian Jazz musicians, Warwick Alder, Jason Morphett, Cathy Harley and Simon Barker.
• “Big City BigBand Live at The Basement” – This was a 16 piece Band including literally every nearly well known Horn player and Musician playing in Sydney today. It was an experimental outfit doing complex arrangements by Atwill and Evan Lohning. This outfit performed for nearly 8 years as a regular outfit.
• “FullCircle”-  Formed as a creative outlet with Gordon Rytmeister, Tony Azzopardi, Don Reid, Andrew Wilkie and John Rutledge as an alternative Jazz sextet. Critical acclaim was in abundance.
• “3 sides of the Same Coin” - Atwills composition and Arranging in full flight showing all sides of Atwill in Performance, Composition and Orchestration.

Television: Atwill has written over 40 documentaries and scores, ten for the ABC/BBC. This included parts of the Africa series, and additional incidental music. Scored the TCN9 Global and PRIME News theme written for 64- piece orchestra. With Mick Barker of KAMU films, hedid additional work on over 12 documentaries and various advertisements for television and corporate film, including--but not limited to-- Peter Weir, Crawford Productions, Apocalypse, CAAMA, Channel 10 jingles and sessions too numerous to mention. 

HISTORY

• Andrew Atwill was surrounded since birth by a music loving, piano playing mother that exposed him since walking to: Mozart, Ella Fitzgerald, Cole Porter, Frank Sinatra and Count Basie, Jerome Kern, Gershwin, Tchaikovsky, Johnny Mercer, The Beatles, Elvis Presley and all the great music of the last 5 centuries;
• Atwills school friends and/or musical associates sharing the same love of music came from diverse areas. The people he grew up with included James Mogine and Rob Hurst (Midnight Oil), Michael Hutchence (INXS), Andrew Thompson, Garry Frost (Moving Pictures), and Andrew Silver (Dynamic Hepnotics) who at 15 before the fame of his friends, was in the Band “Saruman” that was one of the first rock bands to play at the Sydney Opera House which was unheard of then. Most of his musical associates and friends he grew up with include Tommy Emmanuel and other now well known artists who like him share a love of music;
• Atwills early projects included writing a Rock Opera, many performances in a variety of Rock and Pop bands whilst retaining a love of exploratory music. He travelled and toured much of Australia performing;
• Atwillworked on cruise ships backing many well known Australian and OS Cabaret/Jazz artists including Lynn Rogers, Don Lane, Simon Gallaher, Judy Stone, Paul Martell, Jon English, Kamahl, Normie Rowe, Ray Burgess, Mark Holden, Kerrie-Ann Kennerly and many more.
• Atwills initial study achieved a Diploma in Jazz at QLD Conservatorium of Music after studying under Mike Nock and Clive Moorehead. The course was the 3 year Dick Grove Bachelor of Jazz compounded into 2 years, as there were no Jazz Degrees in Australia in 1984. Atwill was the first Jazz player in the Queensland Conservatorium's history to get 100% for improvisation and performance. (Like writing an essay). Graduated with High Distinctions, except Music History.
• Atwill was accepted by Miroslav Vitous, francois Rabbath and Niels Henning-Orsted Pedersen as a student in the mid 1980’s and received an Australian Government Grant for excellence in International study above 20,000 applicants, through the music board of the Australia Council. He selected Miroslav Vitous as his instrumental teacher.
• Atwill studied privately in the USA through the Australian Government Grant with Miroslav Vitous (Weather Report/Chic Corea), and additionally at Berklee College of Music, Boston, under Herb Pomeroy, Pat Metheny, Gary Burton, John Williams/Ennio Morricone(Film scoring), George Russell(New England Conservatory Composition) and many others. Atwill worked, met and played with many wonderful musicians there and again on his returnto the USA.
• Atwill accepted the position as Head of Music Department, Kormilda College, teaching the existing music students, but most importantly, rewriting the CORE curriculum for the senior students. This was subsequently approved for implementation by SSABSA (The Secondary Schools Academic Board of South Australia).

• Atwill has been involved in writing, music of all genres and has even worked as part-time A&R for BMG Music in the early 90’s for a short period, but found his passion in composition and performance;
• Atwill was involved in all recording and creative processes and sessions for TCN9 Studios of primary recording of “Still the One” ads with Paul Zorzi for the Packer Media Group end, also the entire Orchestral Arrangement for Channel Nine News
• While only an example, Atwill has been both a performer and Musical Director. Some include and are not limited to:  The Mikado, Pirates of Penzance, Madame Butterfly and As You Like it for The Elizabethan Theatre Trust Group.
• Following his love of Arranging, Orchestration and Composition, Atwill took a short position as Head Arranging/Orchestration Lecturer, Central Coast Conservatory of Music for six months .
• Atwill furthered his education much later and received a Masters Degree in Music (Jazz) with 1st Class Honours, triple majors – Performance, Composition and Theorem at The University of Auckland.  Atwill was the first jazz musician at The University of Auckland allowed to study composition coupled with performance as majors.
• Atwill maintains a love of composition, performance and Arranging, has recently done overseas arrangements for Shaynee Rainbolt and many others and has received critical acclaim for his work.