The Ensemble - Ensemble Offspring

CLAIRE EDWARDES

Ensemble Offspring — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:10:00 +0000

Artistic Director

A founding member of Ensemble Offspring, Claire Edwardes OAM is the Artistic Director and percussionist. She was recently described as a "unique treasure of Australia’s musical community" by Limelight and as “an invigorating musical life force” by The Age. She is the only Australian to win the 'APRA Art Music Luminary Award’ four times and in 2023 she was the recipient of the Creative Leadership Award and 2025 was a Finalist in Classical Music at the Australian Women in Music Awards. Claire leaps between her roles as leader, mentor, curator, advocate, recording artist, concerto and recital soloist, at all times tirelessly championing new work that she has commissioned predominantly by Australian composers including concertos by Iain Grandage, Anne Cawrse, Elena Kats-Chernin and Kate Moore.

www.claireedwardes.com

Claire Edwardes’ performer chair is generously sponsored by Kim Williams AM and Julianne Maxwell.

LAMORNA NIGHTINGALE

Ensemble Offspring — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:09:00 +0000

Core Musician

Lamorna Nightingale is a freelance flautist, concert presenter, educator and publisher who is passionate about the future of art music in Australia. She has extensive experience working in the orchestral sector and has been a core member of Ensemble Offspring since 2007. Lamorna is the Artistic Director of ‘BackStage Music’, a concert series established in 2016 in Sydney, utilising unusual venues and fostering a diverse culture for living music. These roles have seen her work directly with hundreds of Australian composers at all stages of their careers and developing programs which create a space for under-represented voices to be heard. Through her publishing company Fluteworthy, she has created several pedagogical volumes of repertoire for young flute players.

www.lamornanightingale.com

JASON NOBLE

Ensemble Offspring — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:08:00 +0000

Core Musician

Jason Noble is one of Australia’s most versatile clarinettists – experimental to classical – a soloist and core member of Ensemble Offspring. Jason has performed at festivals locally and internationally, from Warsaw to London, Shanghai to Kabul, and all major cities across Australia. “His expertise and virtuosic playing give new insights into the versatility of the bass clarinet” (Sounds Like Sydney). His album releases include THRUM (2020) – a collection of improvised ambient sounds created with Kim Cunio on piano – and Chi’s Cakewalk (2017), an album of new Australian works for clarinets. He has also made guest appearances with Gurrumul, Sally Seltmann, ABC Classics, Gondwana Voices, Paul Mac, Halcyon, SICKO improvising orchestra, the Tiwi women’s choir Ngarukuruwala and the Australian String Quartet. In 2026 he collaborated with singer Aldous Harding in her Australasian tour, supporting Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.

Jason collaborates with living and emerging composers, and is an in-demand music educator and examiner. He has been invited to teach two winter academies at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music in Kabul, and maintains links with staff and students there. Presently Jason is a teaching fellow at ANU School of Music. Alongside his creative pursuits, he teaches Pilates, a passion that explores the benefits of improved posture, breathing and alignment.

www.jasonnoble-clarinettist.com

VÉRONIQUE SERRET

Ensemble Offspring — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:07:00 +0000

Core Musician

Véronique is a versatile violinist, vocalist, and composer whose artistry bridges classical and contemporary realms. She is a founding member of Ensemble Offspring. Drawing on folk, rock, experimental jazz, dance, and improvisation, she brings a distinctive voice to the concert hall and rock stage alike. Known for her musical flexibility and inclusive soundworld, she directs string sections for rock bands, indie artists, feature films, and studio recordings, collaborating with luminaries such as Archie Roach, Gurrumul, Neil Finn, Fleet Foxes, Amanda Palmer, ACO and SDC and Bangarra Dance Company. Her recent album Migrating Bird was nominated for a 2024 Aria Award and her collaboration with William Barton, Heartland has toured extensively throughout Australia.

www.veroniqueserret.com

BLAIR HARRIS

Ensemble Offspring — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:06:00 +0000

Core Musician

Hailing from New Zealand, and originally coming to Australia to attend ANAM, Blair Harris is a highly regarded Melbourne-based solo cellist and chamber musician, known particularly for his strikingly individual interpretations and innovative collaborative projects. A member of Ensemble Offspring since 2015, he has commissioned many solos by Australian composers including by Jack Symonds, Alice Humphries and Paul Dean. As a soloist he has performed with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra Victoria and he performs regularly as a duo with pianist Caroline Almonte and enjoyed many years performing with Syzygy Ensemble and Southern Cross Soloists. Blair is currently on staff as a cello teacher at Monash University and is the Principal Cellist with Melbourne Chamber Orchestra.

RONAN APCAR

Ensemble Offspring — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:05:00 +0000

Core Musician

Ronan Apcar is a pianist and composer with a reputation of versatility, edge, and tenacity. His experience and fluency across all kinds of music - jazz to the avant-garde, classical to house music - translates into his exciting work as a musician. Described as “a force to be reckoned with” (ClassikON), Ronan’s musicmaking spans a diverse set of practices including performing, composing, arranging, improvising, curating, and collaborating. Using the full range of the piano as well as synthesisers, effects pedals, and drum machines, he is known for thoughtful and unconventional programming featuring contemporary and new music and navigates a diverse musical life as a performer, composer, and collaborator in concerts, festivals, and projects across metropolitan and regional NSW, Victoria, and the ACT.

www.ronanapcar.com

NIKI JOHNSON

Ensemble Offspring — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:04:00 +0000

Creative Associate

Niki Johnson is a percussionist and composer-performer whose practice blends contemporary classical repertoire, improvisation, performance art, and interdisciplinary collaboration. She has been commissioned to compose and perform solo percussion works for the Sydney Powerhouse Museum and Art Gallery of New South Wales, and as a freelancing percussionist she has regularly recorded and performed for the ABC, Sydney Opera House, Phoenix Central Park, and Trackdown Fox studios. A PhD Candidate at Monash University, her research focuses on co-creating and composing for new instruments made from glass, mycelium, ceramics, and found objects in collaboration with sound designers and sculptors. Her primary project, Shock Lines, with glass artist Caitlin Dubler and sound designer Natasha Dubler, explores the resonance and materiality of glass through immersive performance and installation. Niki also collaborates with clarinettist Solomon Frank in Throat Pleats, an experimental duo exploring balloons, hoses, and vacuums, and works with HOSSEI to create sound for playful gallery installations and performance art works. A Speak Percussion Bespoke Artist (2019–2022) she was invited to become an Associate with Ensemble Offspring in 2024.

niki-johnson.com

BENJAMIN WARD

Ensemble Offspring — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:03:00 +0000

Associate Artist

Ben is a musician working on the lands of the Gadigal and Bidjigal whose practice has recently focussed on altered tunings, texture and improvisation. Outside of his work on the double bass with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, he is inspired by the wonderful community of musicians in Sydney and New South Wales. Recent appearances include SIMA at The Vanguard with Matthias and Freya Schack-Arnott; performing Brenda Gifford's Walimbaya at Canberra International Music Festival; and New Mountain with visual artists Peachy and Mosig. Ben has been a guest with Ensemble Offspring on many occasions including as part of Night Songs by Jon Rose and Hollis Taylor and in 2024 he was invited to become an Associate with the group.

ARKIE MOORE

Ensemble Offspring — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:02:32 +0000

Hatched Emerging Performer

Arkie Moore is one of Sydney’s most exciting young trumpet talents. Recognised for her versatility across a broad range of musical styles, she is a sought-after freelance performer and dedicated trumpet teacher. In 2025, she was Associate Principal Trumpet on the Australian Youth Orchestra International Tour to Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, performing under David Robertson (NYC) in venues including the Concertgebouw (AMS) and Musikverein (WIE). Arkie will be joining Ensemble Offspring in 2026 as the Hatched Emerging Performer.