-BARRA
4.5 stars ★★★★½ “From each and every performer, joy radiated from their eyes, their smiles, their hearts.” – Rebecca Varidel, Sydney Scoop
“-barra was truly a most profoundly beautiful and meaningful experience.” – Rebecca Varidel, Sydney Scoop
“…every Australian should see this brilliant performance piece.” – Rebecca Varidel, Sydney Scoop
RHYTHMS OF CHANGE (MELBOURNE RECITAL CENTRE)
4 stars ★★★★ “Harnessing her dynamic artistry to her passionate advocacy, percussionist Claire Edwardes made a persuasive appeal this International Women’s Day for greater gender equity in concert programs by celebrating the vibrant diversity of Australian female composers.” – Tony Way, The Age
“The results showcased here were kaleidoscopically varied and wonderfully resourceful.” – Tony Way, The Age
OFFSPRING BITES 3: EN MASSE
“I implore you to listen (and watch!) Ensemble Offspring’s newly released and excellent album, Offspring Bites 3: En Masse, as a model for how a chamber ensemble can skilfully cultivate and present new compositions by living composers.” – Julie Zhu, Tempo
“Engaging varied and multigenerational audiences is unprecedentedly difficult, but Ensemble Offspring rise to the occasion.” – Julie Zhu, Tempo
YOUNG AT HEART (BOWRAL AUTUMN MUSIC FESTIVAL)
“A delightful hour of quirky, humorous musical storytelling…I was particularly engrossed by this concert that successfully introduced incredibly complex modern music from composers such as Ross Edwards and Ned McGowan to a younger audience.” – Pepe Newton, ClassikON
ANOTHER FUTURE
“…richly varied and full of surprises…” – Zsuzsi Soboslay
THE OFFCAST: CONVERSATIONS WITH MUSICAL MAVERICKS (PODCAST)
“Ensemble Offspring’s core mission is to educate broadly and develop Australian music into the future, introducing innovative music of today to listeners of all ages, so who better to host this new podcast than Claire Edwardes, exuberant percussionist and champion of new music.” – Richard Letts, Loudmouth
SONGBIRDS (BLACKHEATH CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL)
“In between the vast canvasses of Beethoven and Brahms in the morning, and Mendelssohn and more Brahms in the evening, Ensemble Offspring’s program was a delicious sorbet.” – Nicholas Routley, Australian Stage
-TIME AS REVELATOR (CARRIAGEWORKS)
4.5 stars ★★★★½ “Claire Edwardes’ arrangement (of Vermont Counterpoint) for vibraphone, xylophone and tape is a banger, literally, and a perfect showcase for this exuberant performer. – Harriet Cunningham, Sydney Morning Herald
“With music this good, we could mistakenly think we were in Manhattan, but thank all above it’s happening in our very own town.” – Jacqui Smith, Classikon
LISTEN UP!
“…Ensemble Offspring’s line up of superb instrumentalists who not only managed, but surpassed themselves, in presenting these exceedingly complex compositions. Bravo to you all.” – Ron Ringer, ClassikON
“Ensemble Offspring, under the artistic direction of the a-m-a-z-i-n-g percussionist, Claire Edwardes OAM, is Australia’s leading new music group. A blast of fresh air.” – Ron Ringer, ClassikON
“[The second concert] was as emotionally compelling and profound as the first concert was intellectually exhilarating and virtuosic.” – Harriet Cunningham, Limelight
“It was yet another example of the transformative power of living new music, of collaboration and inclusivity.” – Harriet Cunningham, Limelight
BOOM! INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF PERCUSSION
“Founder of Ensemble Offspring in 1995, Edwardes was then joined by another member of Offspring, Jason Noble, playing his signature bass clarinet. The joyous duet Verve by composer/arranger Nathan Daughtrey from North Carolina introduced the first extended hearing of pure melody of the evening, replete with repetitive phrases and jazz inflections, hallmarks of much contemporary American music.” – Vincent Plush, Limelight
WOMEN OF NOTE VOL. 4
“The final track, Djana, for alto flute, bass clarinet, vibraphone & clapsticks, performed by the extraordinary musicians of Ensemble Offspring was in turn joyful and pathos-filled – the silences just as crucial as the notes.” – Megan Stellar, Loudmouth
TIME AS REVELATOR (WAAPA)
This is an ensemble of Australia’s finest musicians performing innovative, relevant and engaging new music that bursts with imagination, energy and inspiration… New music needs to be as carefully programmed and brilliantly performed as Ensemble Offspring consistently does to ensure its reputation grows and bigger audiences assure its rightful place on centre stage.” – Bourby Webster, Seesaw Magazine
“It’s clear they are having a tonne of fun as they find a final burst of energy for the finish line.” – Bourby Webster, Seesaw Magazine
“From the brightly coloured, relaxed dress code to the flow of the program and the engaging introductions to each work, Edwardes invites the audience in and quickly removes any ‘ don’t get it’ worries about the musical language.” – Bourby Webster, Seesaw Magazine
LISTEN UP! (AUSTRALIAN DIGITAL CONCERT HALL)
“The yidaki, bass clarinet and double bass had a most delightful enfolding and entwining discussion… A most striking concert.” – Lynne Lancaster, Sydney Arts Guide