NURTURING AUSTRALIAN ARTISTS
Development Programs
Hatched Academy
Hatched Academy is Ensemble Offspring’s emerging artist development program, providing practical, hands-on experience to a new wave of elite young Australian performers and composers (deemed emerging by themselves without an age limit). The various streams draw on the skills and expertise of our Artistic Director, core instrumentalists and guest composer mentors from Australia and abroad.
The various streams of Hatched Academy offer invaluable in-roads into the vast and exciting world of new music creation and performance by providing participants with the opportunity to hone composition and performance techniques and develop skills in artistic planning, programming, production, funding, marketing, audience engagement and important industry contacts.
Noisy Women Commission
The Noisy Women Commission provides a high-profile opportunity for an exceptional Australian female-identifying or non-binary composer. The chosen composer will create a new chamber work for Ensemble Offspring in close collaboration with our expert musicians. Every second year, the commission is awarded to a former Hatched Academy participant. In 2025 the award is open to all female-identifying Australian composers who have not been previously commissioned by Ensemble Offspring.
Applications for the 2025 Noisy Women Commission will open in July 2024.
First Nations Composer Program
Ensemble Offspring’s multi faceted First Nations Composer Program takes an active role in addressing the disparity in opportunities afforded to Australia’s First Nations musicians and artists with, in the words of Christopher Sainsbury, a “gentle correction” to past approaches.
We recognise the damaging legacy of colonisation and see the immense value that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists can offer the broader arts sector and cultural landscape. Our program features:
Ngarra-Burria: First Peoples Composers – created by Christopher Sainsbury, Ngarra-Burria builds bridges for First Peoples musicians to step forward and create notated compositions and industry connections.
First Nations Composer in Residence – an annual composer residency launched in 2020 featuring Brenda Gifford, Nardi Simpson and Eric Avery.
Community Workshops and Festivals – performing and collaborating on country with First Nations led projects.
Composer & Education Workshops
Ensemble Offspring is dedicated to fostering an understanding of Australian music and introducing the innovative music of today to listeners of all ages. We believe it is vital to support musical development from school age all the way through to emerging professional artists. Our composer workshops cater for high school and tertiary students.
Recently we have been involved in MLC’s Australian Music Days, Richard Gill Presents at the City Recital Hall, Santa Sabina’s Australian Composition Seminar as well as many workshops with tertiary students at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, ANU School of Music and WAAPA/University of Western Australia. Upcoming sessions are being planned with composers at Elder Conservatory, University of Tasmania and University of Melbourne. Over the years we have developed several composer kits with the Australian Music Centre and we are also currently developing high school workshops and composer sessions for the NSW curriculum, focusing on Australian music of the past 25 years – our speciality!
Children’s & Family Programs
The benefits of music for cognitive development at all stages of learning are widely proven, and an essential part of our mission is inspiring music makers and music lovers from an early age. Our Children’s and Family Programs incorporate lively concerts (including our annual Sizzle event at local Bowling Clubs), thought-provoking theatre-style shows, podcasts and education kits for early childhood and primary school age listeners. In recent years Ensemble Offspring has collaborated with key partners including the Sydney Opera House and ABC Classic Kids to create and produce several shows and podcasts introducing young ears to the innovative sound worlds of Australia. These include Bilby’s Bluegum Melodies (2017-current), Sounds like Australia (2018), Music for the Dreaming (2018) and Pipe Dreams Green as part of Way out West Festival. (2015)