Composer & Education Workshops

Composition workshop presentations created by composers Nardi Simpson and Damian Barbeler for Australian Composition Day 2021.

Workshop 1: Nardi Simpson – Of Stars and Birds (2020)
Workshop 2: Damian Barbeler – Visiting Eucalyptus (2018)

by Nardi Simpson
Created for the 2021 Australian Composition Day, hosted by Santa Sabina College. This education kit explores Nardi Simpson’s piece Of Stars and Birds (2020), beginning with the traditional Yuwaalaraay story of the creation of the Southern Cross constellation, and describing Nardi’s process for composing birdsong.

By Claire Edwardes & Anna Kamaralli
Bilby’s Bluegum Melodies was created by Ensemble Offspring as an introduction for young audiences to ‘living’ Australian chamber music. Activities in the kit were designed with pre-school and Stage 1 primary school students in mind, but can be adapted for older children too. All the music performed in ‘Bilby’s Bluegum Melodies’ was written by Australian composers, most of whom are still living and creating music.

By James Humberstone
James Humberstone’s chamber work ‘Cycles and Circles’ was commissioned by Ensemble Offspring for premiere on their regional Music to Infinity tour in 2012. This education kit was co-commissioned by the Campbelltown City Council to encourage high school students in the area to participate in both education workshops and the concert itself. James Humberstone was inspired by the name of the concert series to write a piece which could be performed an infinite number of times and never be the same. Drawing on his own studies of experimental music, he created a new work with aleatoric elements but more importantly for this education kit, hundreds of jumping-off points for young composers to utilise.

By Tristan Coelho & Holly Harrison
The MLC AMD 2020 kit features listening guides and composition activities that explore the two set works by female Australian composers Nicole Murphy and Holly Harrison, igniting students’ musical imaginations. Nicole’s new duo for clarinet and percussion, ‘Dissembled’ was commissioned by MLC in partnership with Ensemble Offspring. Holly Harrison’s ‘Vibe Rant’ (also commissioned by Ensemble Offspring) is the second work in the package. Included are a Composition Toolkit, Performances, Analysis and specific compositional feedback.

By Students of Sydney Conservatorium of Music & Bree van Reyk
This website comprises Recordings, Interviews, Analysis and a small database of compositional activities created by Music Education students at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music (under advisor James Humberstone). These activities are based around composition techniques used in ‘Light for the First Time’ written for Ensemble Offspring by Bree van Reyk. All resources are provided as part of the website.   

By Philip Cooney
‘Dance with Nature – the chamber music of Ross Edwards’ by Philip Cooney, has been especially designed for secondary and tertiary level students. Activities have been prepared for seven short works by Ross Edwards. The kit contains easy-to-use question and activity sections, musical examples, classroom arrangements of music, an interview with the composer, and is also accompanied by a CD from the performance by Ensemble Offspring at the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre, Penrith. 

By Damien Ricketson and James Humberstone
‘Stepping Stones’ is an education resource for senior secondary and tertiary music students. The kit comprises in-class and take-home activities including listening, performing, composing and analysis. The first section is an investigation of the work, Same Steps, by Australian composer Damien Ricketson. The analysis focuses on the concept of the open-form in contemporary classical composition and introduces students to many new musical devices such as unconventional musical notation and the use of microtones. Practical activities and further listening complement the analysis. The second section investigates the works of the four student finalists from the 2007 Sibelius Composer Competition.