Ensemble Offspring

AVANT GARDENS AUTUMN

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Our 2026 Season

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AVANT GARDENS SUMMER

28 February & 1 March, Glebe
A voice, a piano, an intimate salon setting in a private home… It could be Schubert, but add a percussionist and it’s Summer, Offspring style, in the Avant Gardens.

EUROPE & UK TOUR 2026

16 - 28 April, Europe & UK

Ensemble Offspring heads to Europe & the UK to present new Australian music written especially for us. Come see us in Amsterdam, London, Edinburgh, Cromarty, Aberdeen and Glasgow!

AVANT GARDENS AUTUMN

9 May, Woollahra
10 May, Hurlstone Park
Three iconic female composers at the heart of an intimate trio program. It’s Mother’s Day, celebrated with our trademark Ensemble Offspring flair, featuring music we love in the Avant Gardens.

THE ORACLE

3 June, The Neilson ACO On The Pier
Consult the oracle and experience an ancient and charismatic vision of the future with Ensemble Offspring and friends.

REICH: REJOICE: REPEAT

12 September, The Neilson, ACO On The Pier
Ensemble Offspring celebrate Steve Reich’s 90th birthday with a joyous retrospective celebrating the hypnotic power of Reich’s signature rhythmic groove.

AVANT GARDENS SPRING

17 October, Tempe
18 October, Alexandria
25 October, Brisbane
Spring is coming with a quirky, vibrant program featuring rising star trumpeter Arkie Moore. Ensemble Offspring brings the music to life in the Avant Gardens - bright, bold, and full of surprises!

NGARRA-BURRIA GALA

28 October, Eugene Goossens Hall, ABC Ultimo Centre
To hear, to sing – a musical celebration of stories reflecting culture, country and connection from the 2026 Ngarra-Burria cohort and our First Nations Composer in Residence, Mark Munk Ross.

FUTURE CLASSICS 2026

21 November, Utzon Room, Sydney Opera House
A blossoming of voices from the next generation – discover the Future Classics of new Australian art music in this one-off Sydney Opera House showcase.

Lone Hemispheres

Monday 27 July, 7pm
Bay 20, Carriageworks, Redfern

Performing alone yet moving within each other's orbit, Ensemble Offspring's world-renowned chamber musicians step into the spotlight at Carriageworks featuring works by Huw Belling, Holly Harrison and Jane Sheldon alongside modern classics from international big names.

PURCHASE TICKETS

Australia’s Musical Trailblazers

Formed in 1995, Sydney-based Ensemble Offspring is “Australia’s leading new music ensemble” (Classikon). Led by percussionist Claire Edwardes OAM, the core line-up features Lamorna Nightingale (flutes), Jason Noble (clarinets), Véronique Serret (violin) and Blair Harris (cello), joined by 2025 Hatched Emerging Performer Ronan Apcar (piano) and incoming 2026 Emerging Performer Arkie Moore (trumpet).

Commissioning more new music than anyone else in Australia, Ensemble Offspring prioritises and champions marginalised voices - including female-identifying, emerging and First Nations artists. Winners of the 2019 Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award and the 2025 Art Music Award for Performance of the Year: Notated Composition, they recently made their New York debut at Long Play Festival and tour regularly to Europe. Now in its 4th decade, Ensemble Offspring continues to forge new paths for Australian music, driven by artistic excellence, inclusivity and collaboration.

Meet The Musicians

“Here is EO at its most adventurous and its strongest, with sharply-refined performing chops to follow through on its ambitious programmatic swing.”

Limelight, 2025
"...the impact of such works also lies in the way they live in the memory. Both received superb performances.”

Sydney Morning Herald, 2025
“... bold, ambitious and experimental in its celebration of new music.”

Limelight, 2025
“much flair, dynamism, charisma and innovative trail-blazing”

Classic Melbourne, 2026
"This program was notable for its energy and variety as much as for its neat new devices."

Sydney Morning Herald, 2025
“Ensemble Offspring deserves its reputation…they perform with joy, enthusiasm and great skill.”

ClassikON, 2025
"This is an ensemble of Australia’s finest musicians performing innovative, relevant and engaging new music that bursts with imagination, energy and inspiration.”

Seesaw Magazine, 2022
“Claire’s animated introductions…delight the audience, who then sit spellbound…delighted by the virtuosity and the flawless synchronicity.”

ClassikON, 2025

Ensemble Offspring

AVANT GARDENS AUTUMN

Our 2026 Season

Lone Hemispheres

Australia’s Musical Trailblazers

“Here is EO at its most adventurous and its strongest, with sharply-refined performing chops to follow through on its ambitious programmatic swing.”

"...the impact of such works also lies in the way they live in the memory. Both received superb performances.”

“... bold, ambitious and experimental in its celebration of new music.”

“much flair, dynamism, charisma and innovative trail-blazing”

"This program was notable for its energy and variety as much as for its neat new devices."

“Ensemble Offspring deserves its reputation…they perform with joy, enthusiasm and great skill.”

"This is an ensemble of Australia’s finest musicians performing innovative, relevant and engaging new music that bursts with imagination, energy and inspiration.”

“Claire’s animated introductions…delight the audience, who then sit spellbound…delighted by the virtuosity and the flawless synchronicity.”