Press & Presenter Resources

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Ensemble Offspring is Australia’s leading new music group. The multi-award-winning musical trailblazer presents gripping programs of living new music and commissions more new works than any other ensemble in Australia. Ensemble Offspring is led by percussionist Claire Edwardes OAM, with a core line-up of fearless instrumentalists: Lamorna Nightingale (flute), Jason Noble (clarinet), Véronique Serret (violin), Blair Harris (cello) and Benjamin Kopp (piano). 

Ensemble Offspring is passionate about underrepresented musical voices. Ngarra-Burria: First Peoples Composers partnership enables important new voices, the Noisy Women Commission supports exceptional female-identifying and non-binary composers, and Hatched Academy nurtures the next generation. All three initiatives play an integral role in Australia’s musical ecosystem.

Ensemble Offspring is acclaimed on the national and international stage, with recent tours to Amsterdam, Berlin, Glasgow, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Committed to subverting tradition with gripping performances that transcend time and place, Ensemble Offspring navigates the future with open-mindedness and equity for all.

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Ensemble Offspring is Australia’s leading new music group. The multi-award-winning musical trailblazer creates “visceral, joyous music” (Sydney Morning Herald) through “kaleidoscopically varied” (The Age) programs of living new music. With creation at the core of its mission, Ensemble Offspring has commissioned more new works than any other ensemble in Australia. It is acclaimed on the national and international stage, with recent tours to Amsterdam, Berlin, Glasgow, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Ensemble Offspring is led by percussionist Claire Edwardes OAM, with a core line-up of fearless instrumentalists: Lamorna Nightingale (flute), Jason Noble (clarinet), Véronique Serret (violin), Blair Harris (cello) and Benjamin Kopp (piano). Ensemble Offspring is passionate about underrepresented musical voices, drawing inspiration from First Nations, female-identifying, and emerging artists. Ngarra-Burria: First Peoples Composers partnership is a game changer, driving the creation of new repertoire by First Nations voices. In 2022, the project was recognised with a Classical:NEXT Innovation Award. 

Ensemble Offspring champions gender equity in classical music programming. The 2017 season was dedicated to women in music, and the annual Noisy Women Commission supports exceptional female-identifying or non-binary composers. Since 2014, Ensemble Offspring’s Hatched Academy has nurtured the next generation, playing an integral role in Australia’s musical ecosystem. The group was recently recognised for its long term contribution to Australian culture with a 2021 NSW Art Music Luminary Award and a 2019 Sidney Myer Award.

Committed to subverting the classical music tradition with gripping performances that transcend genre, place and art form, Ensemble Offspring navigates the future with open-mindedness, flexibility and equity for all.