Australian percussionist Vanessa Tomlinson is active in the fields of solo percussion, contemporary chamber music, improvisation and composition. As a soloist she has worked closely with influential European composers Vinko Globokar and Brian Ferneyhough, prominent Australian/American composers Erik Griswold, Liza Lim and Anthony Pateras, and instrument builder Rosemary Joy. She performs frequently with a wide array of contemporary chamber and improvisation ensembles including The Australian Art Orchestra, The Golden Orb, Twitch, Clocked Out Duo and has commissioned many solo and chamber music works.
Vanessa studied at University of Adelaide, Hochschule fur musik in Freiburg (with Bernhard Wulff) and University of California, San Diego (with Steven Schick) where she received her DMA in 2000. She has also spend extensive time studying Sichuan Opera Percussion in Chengdu China with Mr. Zhong.
Vanessa currently lives in Brisbane where she is Head of Percussion at the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University, director of Ba Da Boom Percussion, and co-artistic director of Clocked Out, www.clockedout.org