Press & Presenter Resources

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Ensemble Offspring are Sydney’s musical mavericks, uniting the most innovative instrumentalists in Australia with a broad collective of collaborators to explore new ideas through living new music. Led by acclaimed percussionist Claire Edwardes OAM, the ensemble comprises a core line-up of some of Australia’s most esteemed and experienced chamber musicians, championing living composers and creating musical experiences that stimulate the senses and pique curiosity. Ensemble Offspring supports emerging and as-yet-unheard composers, in particular Australian female-identifying and First Nations artists. Ensemble Offspring were awarded the 2019 Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award and the State Luminary Award in the 2021 Art Music Awards for consistently high-quality performances, breadth of repertoire, and commitment to collaboration for 25 years. Committed to subverting the classical music tradition with experiential concerts of living new music across genre, place and art form, Ensemble Offspring are navigating the future with open mindedness, flexibility and joy!

270 words

Ensemble Offspring are Sydney’s musical mavericks, uniting the most innovative instrumentalists in Australia with a broad collective of collaborators to explore new ideas through living new music. Led by acclaimed percussionist Claire Edwardes OAM, the ensemble comprises a core line-up of some of Australia’s most well-regarded musicians: Lamorna Nightingale (flute), Jason Noble (clarinet), Véronique Serret (violin), Blair Harris (cello) and Benjamin Kopp (piano). Together they champion living composers and create musical experiences that stimulate the senses and pique curiosity. Ensemble Offspring supports emerging and as-yet-unheard composers, in particular Australian female-identifying and First Nations artists. The ensemble’s varied collaborations stretch artistic horizons and advance the ever-expanding landscape of new music. Since 2014 their Hatched Academy program has nurtured the next generation of Australian musicians and composers, while their First Nations Composer Program has fostered the careers of Indigenous musicians since 2017.

Ensemble Offspring were awarded the State Luminary Award in the 2021 Art Music Awards for consistently high-quality performances, breadth of repertoire, and commitment to collaboration for 25 years. They are also winners of the 2019 Sidney Myer Performing Arts Group Award, and in the same year were selected to showcase at the international music market Classical:NEXT (Rotterdam), and were also nominated for their first ARIA Award in the Best Children’s Album category. Recent tours have taken them to Amsterdam, Berlin, Glasgow, Hong Kong and Shanghai, and they are featured regularly at Mona Foma Festival and Sydney Festival. Committed to subverting the classical music tradition with experiential concerts of living new music across genre, place and art form, Ensemble Offspring are navigating the future with open mindedness, flexibility and joy!